overcoming a cycle of burnout
The Challenge
For most of my life, I would experience burnout after initiating a creative project. Fuelled by my strong perfectionist tendencies, I was unable to get much further than crafting an idea and making a public announcement. I called it the “launch-and-burn” cycle and noticed that it would send me into nervous system disregulation and multi-month periods of “creative depression.”
Although I had successfully navigated burnout before, I knew that deep change could not take place simply because I felt better. At this point—with a graveyard of creative projects sitting in my archive— I knew the pattern would return unless I tried something radically new.
In Fall 2023, I was ready to finally initiate my dream creative project while I was also navigating a few big life transitions (death of a parent, marriage, and an international move). I knew that if I were to honor the creativity coming through me, I would need professional guidance on how to do it well without falling back into my regular patterns.
Kelly Wilde Miller is a creative entrepreneur, artist, and curious explorer of her inner wilderness.
She is also the host of the Wild on Purpose Podcast (you can listen to our episode together here).
Kelly is deeply fascinated by the journey of "human re-wilding" and sees aligned creativity as a pathway to reclaiming our essential nature. After traveling nomadically for many years, Kelly has settled in Boulder, Colorado with her husband and puppy. There, she devotes herself to the creative muse that cyclically moves through her.
What I Learned
Through my work with Vix, I was able to see the patterns happening on a cyclical basis and how they were rooted in my sense of safety and self-worth. I was able to be more honest with myself about where my motivation was coming from and which parts of me were seeking love and validation. I learned to recognise early on when old patterns of egoic striving were driving my body into exhaustion, burnout and misalignment while knowing how to act on a new set of choices. By learning nervous system regulation tools, I can now create a more regulated, grounded place rather than riding the highs of stress and adrenaline.
By learning cyclical living principles, I have been better able to plan and support my creative projects by supporting my physical, emotional and energetic needs. Instead of hoping for the best, I now recognise that there is a cyclical blueprint underpinning my ability to set ‘Future Kelly’ up for success while respecting her bandwidth.
Working with Vix has been nothing short of transformative.
She expertly guided me toward understanding and embracing my inner rhythms, empowering me to navigate my creative journey with grace and resilience. Her compassionate approach, coupled with practical tools and strategies, helped me break free from the shackles of perfectionism and burnout that once stifled my creative spirit. Through her intuitive coaching, I've been able to dissolve the barriers that once held me back, and instead, flourish in both my personal and professional life.
Vix's wisdom has been invaluable in guiding me toward a more balanced and fulfilling way of living, working, and creating, while staying attuned to my natural cycles and strengths.
The Results
Within a few weeks of beginning our work, I was able to launch my podcast, which I had been wanting to do for two years. Instead of getting attached to the high of launching (and then burning out), I allowed myself to launch gradually by knowing that the real initiative was maintaining an ongoing podcast. As of this writing, I have created eight episodes over five months while also allowing myself to take restorative winter time off. I’m even supporting other early-stage podcasters and creatives get their projects off the ground keeping many of these same principles in mind.
Beyond all the external progress, the greatest result is that I'm living in a more cyclical way. I'm honouring my menstrual cycle, aligning myself with the four seasons and honoring the varying stages of development that my creative projects are in. This has helped me set time and energy boundaries in ways that feel truly revolutionary. I’m quick to catch burnout at it’s earliest stages and create time for plenty of rest and recovery (including creative rest).
My perfectionist tendencies — well, I’m quite aware of them! Many of their patterns have evolved into more skillful traits and those that remain, I’m less blindsided by them. These parts have been welcomed and accepted as viable aspects of myself, which really creates a felt sense of greater wholeness.