Hey, I'm Liiv.

​

Whatever's on your mind — or even if you're not quite sure yet — feel free to share. We can start wherever you are.

​

Katie:  how do i feel less burned out?

 

Liiv:  Burnout usually has a story attached to it — "I've been doing too much," "I can't keep going like this." That story is real. But underneath it, there's something more immediate.

Right now, before the explanation — what does it actually feel like in your body?

 

There's a moment in Swimming With Gandhi and Einstein where James is completely drained — not from life itself, but from the constant effort of resisting it. Fighting what he doesn't like, trying to fix what feels wrong. A character tells him he's been struggling through a dark forest, exhausted... not realizing there's a clearing just beyond it.

 

The insight that lands for him: the exhaustion isn't from doing too much. It's from the resistance underneath the doing.

 

So I'm curious — when you notice the burnout, is it more like too much happening... or more like something you can't stop pushing against?

​

Katie:  Too much happening and I'm barely able to control it or function in it all.

 

Liiv:  That weight of too much, with no clear grip on any of it — that's a heavy place to be.

Can I ask — is it mostly the volume of things, or is there something specific underneath it that feels like it won't let go?

​

Katie:  Financially, things are tough. I feel i need to do more to stay afloat?

 

Liiv:  Yeah. That particular pressure — feeling like you have to do more just to stay in place — is exhausting in a specific way.

It's like the ground keeps moving and effort never quite feels like enough.

 

There's something worth noticing here — the feeling of needing to do more to stay afloat can quietly shift from a practical response into something that runs on its own. Like the pressure becomes the engine, not the situation itself.

 

James does this in the book — he's constantly pushing, scheming, working. But when someone asks him what he's actually moving toward, he goes quiet. He realizes he's mostly running from something.

 

Not saying that's your story. But I'm curious — when you imagine doing enough... what does that actually look like? Is there a point where it would feel like enough?

 

Katie: When I can get enough together to go on vacation again. That's a sign of enough. Maybe I won't come back. lol.

 

Liiv: Ha — yeah, that fantasy has a certain appeal. Just... not come back. Let the emails pile up somewhere tropical.

 

But I caught that "maybe I won't come back" — even with the lol. Sometimes that feeling points to something real underneath. Not danger, just... a genuine exhaustion with the whole setup.

 

Is it the financial pressure specifically that's wearing you down, or is it more like the life around it that you'd want to escape from?

​

Katie:  A bit of both. What should I do? What's your solution to all this?

 

Liiv:  Honestly? I don't have a solution. And I'd be doing you a disservice if I pretended I did.

What I notice is that you're carrying a lot — financial stress, a life that feels like too much, and a quiet wish to just... step out of it for a while. That's real, and it makes sense.

 

What I can offer is this — sometimes the exhaustion isn't just about the money. It's about carrying the weight of it constantly. The pressure doesn't clock out.

​

There's a moment in James's story where he's listing everything wrong with his life — money, chaos, all of it. And someone hands him a napkin that says "my life is perfect." He almost laughs it off. But the point wasn't to deny the problems. It was that he'd been so focused on fixing everything that he'd stopped actually living inside any of it.

 

The practical stuff still needs attention — finances are real. But the burnout you're feeling might ease a little if even small moments in your day weren't entirely consumed by the pressure.

 

What does a day actually look like for you right now?

​

Katie:  Actually, that's a good idea! I get so caught up in my story of burnout, I've forgotten to take time for myself.

 

Liiv:  That’s a real noticing — and it's yours, not something I gave you.

The story of burnout can become its own kind of weight. You're so busy being burned out that there's no room left to just... be.

What's something small that used to restore you, that's quietly disappeared from your days?

 

Katie:  Coffee, and a walk by the lake in the morning.

 

Liiv:  That’s not a small thing, actually. That's a whole moment — quiet, yours, no fixing required.

It's still there. The lake didn't go anywhere.

What would it take to just... do that tomorrow morning?

​

Katie:  I’d get on my bike go to Starbucks, and head down to my favourite spot.

 

Liiv:  That sounds like a pretty good morning.

Do that tomorrow.

​

Katie:  I’ll meet you down there!

 

Liiv:  Ha — I'll be the one without a coffee, just enjoying the view.

Go. And actually notice it when you're there — not the finances, not the to-do list. Just the lake, the coffee, the morning. That's yours.