Episode Three: Inner Critic: The Root of Toxic Productivity & Burnout

Do you ever get that rush of excitement after you cross off something from your todo list? Or that relief after the long run you weren’t sure if you could do when you started? Or you finally pushed through some work that kept you up at night worrying about how you would get it done? And then do you think to yourself, ah now that it’s done, I can finally rest. For ambitious women being productive is like oxygen to us. Because we have so much creative energy burning inside of us, productivity makes us feel alive, energized, and fulfilled. Not being productive can leave us feeling angry, frustrated, and even depressed sometimes. We are definitely those difficult patients when we are told to rest after an injury, surgery or illness because we can’t sit still and will push our limits even though resting is what we need. Being productive is a positive wonderful strength to have but can also be damaging if we are being over productive out of fear, never really allowing ourselves to rest until we have accomplished something or earned something. This is what I call Toxic Productivity, and this is what I want to explore with you in today’s episode and give you some helpful tools to help manage it.