From Burnout to Boundaries

How Crisis Taught Me to Build Sustainable Business Relationships

It wasn't the meetings that broke me.

Or the endless "quick coffee" dates.

Or even the constant pings from messaging apps.

It was the guilt.

The crushing, constant guilt of trying to be everything to everyone while slowly disappearing myself.

The Unraveling

I remember the exact moment my body said "enough." I was sitting in my fifth coffee meeting of the day, smiling and nodding, while inside my head was screaming. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold my cup. My chest felt tight. The room was spinning.

I excused myself, walked to my car, where the anxiety overwhelmed me.

This wasn't just normal overwhelm. This was my body and mind staging an intervention.

The numbers told one story:

• 60+ hours a week "networking"

• 25+ active projects

• 100+ "maintenance" relationships

• Endless social media connections

But the real story was in what those numbers were costing me:

• Chronic anxiety

• Physical exhaustion

• Creative depletion

• Lost sense of self

I was the "queen of connection," but I had never felt more alone.

The Hard Stop

My doctor's words were simple: "Stop everything. Now."

But for a business owner built on relationships, what does "stop" even mean? My biggest fear wasn't letting others down – it was losing everything I'd built. My business was relationships. Or so I thought.

The first week of forced rest was torture. Every notification felt like a thread of my business unraveling. Every declined meeting felt like a failure. Every "no" felt like betrayal.

But in that painful pause, something unexpected happened: The world didn't end. My business didn't collapse. And slowly, I started to see things differently.

The Wake-Up Call

During my recovery, I started journaling about my relationships. I noticed patterns:

• Some people drained my energy, while others recharged it

• Certain connections had clear purpose, while others were habit

• A few relationships consistently supported growth, while many kept me stuck

• The deepest bonds required the least maintenance

The revelation was both liberating and heartbreaking: I had built a business on the myth that all relationships needed equal energy. I was living in relationship debt, constantly making withdrawals from my personal wellbeing to pay the interest on connections that weren't serving either party.

The Permission to Choose

Recovery taught me something powerful: Sustainability isn't about managing time – it's about managing energy. And not all relationships deserve equal energy.

I started asking different questions:

• "Does this connection energise or drain me?"

• "Is this relationship serving its purpose?"

• "Am I maintaining this out of fear or value?"

• "What would happen if I let this naturally fade?"

These questions became the seeds of the RSL Framework.

The Framework Takes Shape

As I rebuilt my business, I noticed that healthy relationships fell into natural categories:

Reason relationships

Served a specific purpose:

• Clear objectives

• Defined timelines

• Natural conclusions

• Mutual understanding

Season relationships

Supported growth:

• Shared learning phases

• Collaborative energy

• Evolving purposes

• Natural transitions

Lifetime relationships

Provided foundation:

• Deep alignment

• Effortless connection

• Mutual support

• Sustainable energy

Understanding these distinctions changed everything. It gave me permission to:

• Let go of expired connections

• Invest deeply where it mattered

• Build boundaries with confidence

• Trust the natural flow of relationships

The Transformation

Implementing this framework transformed not just my business, but my life:

• My calendar cleared by 40%

• My energy levels soared

• My creativity returned

• My revenue actually increased

But the biggest change was emotional:

• The guilt disappeared

• The anxiety lifted

• The joy returned

• The right relationships deepened

Your Permission Slip

If you're reading this and feeling the weight of too many relationships, the pressure to maintain every connection, the guilt of not being enough for everyone – I want you to know something:

You have permission to:

• Be selective about your energy

• Let relationships evolve or end

• Maintain strong boundaries

• Focus on what truly matters

Burnout taught me that sustainable business isn't about managing more relationships – it's about nurturing the right ones.

In December, I'm sharing the complete RSL Framework with my Chatterbox paid subscribers. It's everything I learned about building sustainable business relationships, transformed into a simple, practical system.

Because your business relationships should support your growth, not drain your energy.

Are you ready to build a more sustainable network?

Join to discover how to build sustainable business relationships in 2025.

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Let's create a new way of connecting – one that honours our energy, our purpose, and our peace.

With courage and conviction,

Share your story below:

Have you ever felt the pressure of maintaining too many business relationships? How has it affected your wellbeing?