2025 Reflection: When Pushing Harder Stopped Working
I Took On Way Too Much All at Once and My Body Let Me Know
One of the biggest realizations I had in 2025 was this:
I tried to fix everything at the same time.
And the irony is that I’m the first person to tell others not to do that.
Yet here I was, doing the exact opposite.
Duh.
When I look back now, it’s no wonder I burned myself out.
Here’s What Actually Happened
My sleep fell apart.
I was exhausted but wired, struggling to wind down at night, waking up in the middle of the night, and never quite feeling rested.
My blood sugars started swinging all over the place.
And looking back…. the reason is obvious. I changed everything at once:
A new strength training routine
More walking
A full elimination diet
New supplements
A significant increase in progesterone.
I already knew all of the these things affect blood sugar, but I was so caught up in setting big goals, that I accidentally ignored the fundamentals.
And Then There Was My Schedule
Early mornings.
Workdays with travel and back-to-back presentations.
Then, the moment my workday ended, I squeezed in a workout and then, sat back down at my computer and worked on Midlife T1D until 11 or midnight most nights.
No buffer.
No recovery.
No off switch.
What was I thinking?
Why is it that we often see so clearly what others need to do, but when it comes to keeping ourselves in check we ignore or completely forget our own advice? Well, I’m just admitting it out in the open right now.
Then I Realized This Pattern Didn’t Just Start in 2025
As I reflected, it became clear that this pattern didn’t begin this year.
I’ve spent most of my adult life navigating high responsibility seasons, sometimes by choice, sometimes by necessity.
A demanding career.
Serious health challenges. (Thyroid Cancer at 25, then Type 1 at 34)
Recovering and rebuilding from Divorce
Rebuilding financially.
Learning how to support myself and a family.
Life required me to be capable, adaptable, and resilient, and I became all of those things.
Along the way, there were also incredible gifts:
deep growth, meaningful relationships, a strong sense of independence, and a confidence that comes from knowing I can handle hard things.
I wouldn’t trade that.
But when I looked back at 2025, a new question surfaced; one I hadn’t fully asked myself before:
Why am I always hustling so hard?
That’s when it clicked.
Pushing, striving, and staying in motion wasn’t just ambition, it was a strategy that served me for a long time and even became a habit.
But then perimenopause arrived, and my body is giving me clear feedback:
The strategy that got me here doesn’t work anymore.
Not because it was wrong.
But because the season has changed.
What I’m Taking With Me Into Next Year
I still have big goals. That hasn’t changed.
But 2025 taught me that trying to optimize everything at once; health, hormones, fitness, finances, work, purpose is a guaranteed way to burn out and stall.
The lesson wasn’t to care less.
It was to do less at the same time.
I’m heading into the next year with a different approach:
Fewer simultaneous goals
More recovery built into the plan
More respect for my body and nervous system
This isn’t me slowing down because I don’t care.
It’s me changing the system so my effort can finally count.
.
I’m not slowing down because I don’t care.
I’m choosing a way forward that supports my energy and longevity.
Sustainability isn’t a setback. It’s a strategy.
If this resonated, you’re not alone.
I’d love to know. What’s one area of your life where “doing less at once” might actually support you more this year?
If you’re navigating midlife with big goals and a body that’s asking for a different pace, I share more reflections and practical tools in my newsletter.
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