45 and Burnout: What I’ve Learned About Life, Work, and Energy
Yesterday I turned 45.
Birthdays have a way of making us pause - to look back at what’s shaped us, to notice where we are, and to question what comes next. For me, birthdays aren’t all about cake and candles. They’re about reflection. And at 45, I’ve been thinking a lot about what Burnout has taught me, not just about work, but about life.
Burnout as a MirroR
Burnout isn’t just exhaustion. It isn’t just stress. And it’s certainly not about time management or life hacks. It’s the moment life holds up a mirror and says: something has to change (with the addition of a complete nervous system collapse - which I can tell you is no fun!)
At 32, my first burnout made me seriously ill.
At 35, my second burnout nearly killed me.
These weren’t isolated events — they were turning points and they forced me to confront uncomfortable truths:
- That I’d built a version of “success” that was slowly destroying me.
- That I’d learned to ignore the signals my body had been screaming at me for years.
- That pushing harder wasn’t strength — it was survival.
At 40, I made the biggest shift of all. I stopped treating burnout as the side project to my award-winning consultancy. I stopped treating it like “something I spoke about on the side.” And I made it my work, my obsession, and my mission.
Now, at 45, I can see burnout not just as something that happened to me, but as something that reshaped me. It stripped away what wasn’t working, and it demanded that I rebuild on new terms.
What 45 Has Taught Me About Energy
Our energy is not infinite. The last 10 months of pain and challenge whilst I await my operation have REALLY proved this to me. We live like it is - cramming diaries, chasing goals, saying yes when we should say no. But energy has limits.
At 45, I’ve learned that:
- Rest is not indulgence. It’s the foundation of everything else.
- Awareness is power. When you know your stress signals, you don’t wait for collapse.
- Boundaries aren’t barriers. They’re lifelines. They keep you tethered to what matters most.
We glamorise busyness, but busyness isn’t legacy. Nobody remembers you for your inbox. They remember how you made them feel, and the energy you brought into a room. Burnout robs you of that energy.
Redefining Success
I used to think success meant working harder, climbing higher, proving myself endlessly. Burnout showed me how fragile that version of success really was - and my wadribe full of fabulous clothes, designer bags and red soled shoes did not cushion the fall when burnout me fall.
At 45, success means something else entirely:
- Doing work that changes lives, without sacrificing my own.
- Building a business that thrives on impact, not exhaustion.
- Knowing that my voice - and the Burnout Academy - are part of rewriting the global story of burnout.
I’m not chasing someone else’s definition anymore. I’ve built my own. And that clarity is what sustains me.
Why This Matters for You
If you don’t redefine success for yourself, burnout will do it for you. And it won’t be gentle. It will strip away your health, your confidence, and your sense of self until you have no choice but to start again.
So don’t wait until you’re staring into the mirror of burnout. Ask yourself now:
- What am I chasing, and is it mine to chase?
- What’s the cost of my current definition of success?
- What would it look like to build a life I don’t need to recover from?
At 45, I’m not just older. I’m sharper. I’m clearer. And I’m more committed than ever to ending burnout on a global level — because nobody should have to collapse to discover who they really are.
Kelly
I’m daring to imagine a world where Burnout no longer exists, and if you’re daring to imagine a world like that too, then come and join me.
- Connect with me on LinkedIn
- Subscribe to the Burnout Bulletin — my week day email that gives you the insights you won’t find on LinkedIn
- Join me in the Burnout Academy — because Burnout ends with Awareness