The Burnout Trap

So many entrepreneurs get stuck in a cycle of high standards, endless ideas, and superhuman expectations.  We set unreasonable expectations of ourselves, to the level we would never put on anyone else, until burnout catches up with us and we collapse in a heap, full of shame because we are somehow as human as everyone else. It’s important we get candid about the damage this self induced shame-spiral can do!

As a wellness professional, I felt immense pressure to “embody serenity” for my clients, to be the good example, and meanwhile the internal struggle with exhaustion and self-doubt is real! This should not be in hiding, this needs to be outed, spoken and owned as a toxic part of burnut culture. ADHD of course adds another layer of complexity, we become pro’s at masking our symptoms and slot round pegs into square holes in a neurotypical world.  Our propensity to get into hyperfocus and overcommit ourselves day-in-day-out can lead us to walk the plank into a sea of burnout, as it did for me before I even realised what was happening.

The biggest lesson? Burnout doesn’t happen overnight—it builds over time. Recognising the early signs and giving yourself permission to pause and reset your energy, so it’s sustainable is crucial for long term productivity. 

The Power of Morning Rituals: A Game-Changer for ADHD Entrepreneurs

Waking up in the morning is a battle for a lot of us, our brains produce a cortisol spike which wakes us up, but being a stress hormone, it can easily trigger negative thoughts. This was the case for my for the majority of my adult life. My breakthrough came through intentional morning rituals – not just for routine’s sake, but to reprogram my mindset. Journaling, visualisation, and self-coaching techniques helped my break the burnout cycle and cultivate a positive mental state before the day even began.

I emphasise the importance of tailoring a morning ritual to your own needs—whether it’s journaling, movement, or mindful meditation. You do you. You’re the boss of you. You are your own guru, I am merely your guide. It is absolutely vital that you embrace the practices that truly resonate with what works for you, your mind and your body.  I love to hand over the guidance to either my meticulously planned interval timer, or someone else guiding the session, that is part of the joy for me – as someone who is the boss of literally everything in my life. It’s inspiring to find the right guide, who inspires and supports me. The goal is to be intentional, to create a proactive start to the day, rather than respond directly to the autonomic nervous system’s spike in stress.

A Roadmap to Sustainable Success

Through my personal and professional experiences, I developed the Four Pillars of Happiness—a framework that helps busy people, professionals, coaches and ADHD entrepreneurs balance ambition with well-being.

1. Peace: Cultivate mindfulness and self-awareness. Being honest about what’s real is a key happiness indicator, peace is not about spiritual bypassing, it’s about processing, reflecting, attuning the focus with intention and then taking actions that align your energy to peaceful living. Whether through meditation, movement, or journaling, creating space for calm is essential.
2. Power: Surround yourself with the right people. A strong support system of mentors, peers, and mentees fosters resilience and inspiration. This is about ensuring your people inspire and motivate you to walk towards your vision of happiness. The dreamers and believers are key to have around us, we are tribal beings.
3. Purpose: Align your work with your values. Burnout often stems from a misalignment between what you do and what truly fulfils you.
4. Play: The brain rewires when we celebrate the wins. Neurons that fire together, wire together. Reintroduce joy and creativity. Playfulness rewires the brain for positivity and makes learning and growth feel effortless. We learn 3 x faster when we play.

For the most impactful approach, do not ficus on quick fixes— focus on rewiring the brain and lifestyle for long-term balance and happiness.

Take the First Step

Feeling the weight of burnout? It’s time to take action to recover. I encourages you to start small:

1. Set aside 5-10 minutes each morning for journaling and visualisation, implement one practice at a time and habit stack over time.  Build one habit, and then tack the next on top of it, once it’s established and slowly build to having a habit stack in the morning. Less is more, the most powerful thing is consisistency.
2. Identify one small boundary you can put in place to protect your energy. Grab a pen and write a list of ten things you want to stop doing. Then choose one to focus on this week, and decide how you can say no.
3. Check out Cat Duval’s Future You Visualisation and start designing a life that fuels your brilliance, not your burnout. For access to Cat’s visualisation meditations that trains your mind for positive self talk, positive visualisation to train your brain to believe in your dreams and goals, and dress rehears the result in advance, download Cat’s Future You Visualisation Meditation below. 

Cat is a coach, speaker and senior yoga teacher, Founder of Nine Lives Yoga and creator of Flux to Flow and the 4 Pillars of Happiness. Cat’s work supports people and professionals move from burnout to brilliance, manage their mental health, and step into a state of flow.

She speaks as a catalyst for change and coaches people in peaceful practices that connect people and planet. Cat has worked with over 25,000 clients across 11 countries from speaking to hosting retreats to diving deeper with clients through her coaching course.  She lives on a modern eco village in Bristol where she loves practicing Acroyoga, walking her dog in the Cotswolds, and partner dancing with friends for joy and inspiration.