When Strategy Becomes Self-Abandonment: Why You’re Burnt Out Even Though You’re “Doing Everything Right”
I love a good strategy. Systems, plans, and structure can be incredibly supportive, especially for women who lead, coach, or create. Strategy helps us organize our energy, direct our efforts, and stay focused on our goals.
But what happens when that strategy becomes a source of stress, disconnection, or burnout?
What happens when the very structure that’s supposed to support you starts pulling you away from yourself?
That’s what I call strategy as self-abandonment. And if you’re feeling exhausted, unmotivated, or just off, this might be what’s happening under the surface.
The Strategy Trap No One Talks About
You’re likely no stranger to the world of smart business strategy: Launch plans. Social media calendars. Revenue goals. They can be incredibly helpful, until they’re not.
Here’s what I see too often in my work with high-achieving women: You follow the “shoulds” of online business and leadership. You do what’s worked for other people. You hit every mark, and yet, you feel completely disconnected. You’re no longer inspired by your work (and guess what? people can tell!)
You’ve lost your spark, your creativity, and your ability to hear your own intuition. In short: you’ve abandoned yourself in the name of being strategic.
Signs Your Strategy Is No Longer Serving You
Not sure if this is you? Here are a few red flags:
You’re posting, launching, or producing content on schedule, but it all feels flat.
You’re ignoring that voice in your gut that says, “This isn’t it.”
You feel anxious when you think about your business, even when things are “working.”
You’re exhausted, overcommitted, and low-key resentful of your calendar.
You’re doing everything “right”... but none of it feels true.
These are all clear signs that your strategy may be out of alignment with your energy, values, or current season of life.
Why It Happens (It’s Not Your Fault)
This isn’t a personal failing; it’s a cultural one. We live in a world that glorifies productivity over presence and strategy over intuition. We’ve been taught to prioritize systems over self-awareness, outcomes over alignment.
And for many of us, especially those socialized as women, there’s a deep nervous system imprint that says:
“If I just do it right, I’ll be safe. I’ll be enough.”
But that’s not a strategy. That’s survival mode. And it’s not sustainable. That’s when burnout happens and that’s when you feel like you can no longer carry on as a business owner. It might be when you start pulling up job listings on LinkedIn and searching for an easier way forward.
The Shift: From Self-Abandonment to Aligned Strategy
So what’s the alternative?
It’s not about throwing away your calendars or ignoring structure. And it’s not about tossing your whole business in the garbage. Rather, it’s about creating a strategy that is flexible, intuitive, and built to support you.
Aligned strategy is:
Rooted in your body’s wisdom and capacity.
Responsive to your season of life and business.
Built around your energy, not someone else’s “success formula.”
Supportive, not restrictive.
The best strategies don’t demand perfection; they make space for your humanity.
Questions to Reconnect With Yourself
If you’re feeling out of sync, try asking yourself:
Where am I following a strategy that no longer feels aligned?
What parts of my work feel like obligation, not a desire?
What would it feel like to work with my energy instead of overriding it?
Give yourself permission to pause, to shift, to reimagine. This is where burnout recovery really begins, not with more to-do lists, but with deeper self-trust.
Want Support?
If this resonated, you’re not alone, and you don’t have to navigate this shift by yourself.
My Energy Profile™ Readings are designed to help you understand your natural energy, strengths, and rhythms, so you can create a strategy that actually feels good. We look at your astrology, your Human Design, and reveal a unique blueprint that makes you…you.
Because the truth is: the most powerful strategy you can follow is the one that leads you back to yourself.
👉 Book your Energy Profile Reading here
You’re allowed to do this differently. In fact, you’re meant to.