When Being the Reliable One Becomes a Cage with Jennifer Kaufman

What happens when being the reliable one stops being something you do and becomes who you believe you have to be? In this episode of The Nope Coach Podcast, I'm joined by Jennifer Kaufman, who spent more than 25 years in educational leadership while also being a caregiver, advocate, mother, grandmother and the person everyone knew they could rely on. Then, at 61, she walked away from her career as a school principal to pursue the work she truly wanted to do. We talk about burnout, over-functioning, boundaries, identity and what Jennifer calls "burnout dressed up as competence", when you're exhausted but keep proving how capable you are by doing even more. We also talk about: • Why being capable can become a trap • Knowing when it's time to make a change • The difference between helping and rescuing • Why you don't have to keep climbing the career ladder • Making a plan when fear tells you to stay put • Letting go of stuff, responsibilities and identities you've outgrown • Becoming a grandparent to an autistic child and learning to support rather than take over • Why kindness needs to include yourself too Just because you can carry it doesn't mean it's yours to carry. Find out more about Jennifer here: https://jenkaufman.com/ Find out more about Suzanne here: https://www.suzanneculberg.com/  Want to be a guest on The Nope Coach? Send Suzanne Culberg a message on PodMatch, here: https://podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/thenopecoach