One of the reasons we experience burnout is because we aren’t valuing and accepting our whole selves. Not just our strengths, but our weaknesses, too. We think we should be able to do all the things we’re committed to. We reject the parts of ourselves that are giving us clues that something we expect ourselves to do is not good for us.
I've always been a person who feels things very deeply. My sensitivity has felt like an enormous weakness, causing me extreme pain throughout my life. I’m often tempted to resist it and try to “fix” that part of myself. But the truth is, if I didn’t have such strong emotions, I wouldn’t be able to make the things I do, the way I do. I wouldn’t be able to empathize with people as deeply as I can; to see and feel things from their perspective and to make them feel seen and valuable.
We can’t have light without shadow. If we know and appreciate our strengths, we also have to accept the weaknesses that go along with those strengths. When we accept ourselves in our weaknesses, we can also allow ourselves to let go of things that are simply not good for us, regardless of the expectations of others.