{"id":652,"date":"2025-04-03T15:54:48","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T15:54:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michelleshaw.co.uk\/?p=652"},"modified":"2025-04-03T15:54:48","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T15:54:48","slug":"from-push-through-to-pause","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hopeful-elgamal.88-208-215-195.plesk.page\/?p=652","title":{"rendered":"\ud83c\udf00 From Push Through to Pause: Rebuilding Work, Energy & Identity from the Ground Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

\ud83c\udf00 From Push Through to Pause:<\/em><\/h2>\n

Rebuilding Work, Energy & Identity from the Ground Up<\/h3>\n

Most days, I feel completely present and in flow\u2014\ud83c\udfa7 usually when I\u2019m working one-to-one.
And then there are days like today.<\/p>\n

Days where I can be fully there for others\u2026
And then find myself needing to lie on the sofa for a full hour.
No screens. No planning. Just\u2026 still. Shut down. \ud83d\udecb\ufe0f<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not something I\u2019m used to needing\u2014but today, it hit me.
I\u2019d forgotten what it felt like to need<\/em> to switch off.
And in that stillness, it landed:
I\u2019ve been pushing through again. Quietly. On auto-pilot. \ud83e\udd16<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a pattern I thought I\u2019d left behind\u2014
A life of carrying on regardless.<\/em>
(Somewhere, \ud83c\udfb6 The Beautiful South lyrics echo.)<\/p>\n

But this time was different.
This time, I noticed it.
This time, I stopped. \u270b<\/p>\n

\n

What struck me was this:<\/p>\n

Even though I haven\u2019t yet fully removed myself from the familiar dynamics and daily chaos,
I\u2019ve made progress in moving my situation forwards\u2014
and created enough space in myself to pause<\/strong>.
To listen<\/strong>.
To honour<\/strong> what I need. \ud83c\udf2c\ufe0f<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not something I could do before.<\/p>\n

I used to only take action when I was completely burnt out \ud83d\udd25\u2014
So dysregulated I couldn\u2019t even articulate what I needed, let alone ask for help.
And just like the furnace of menopause I\u2019m now navigating, I used to bolt<\/em>. \ud83d\udeaa<\/p>\n

But now? I\u2019m learning to catch it earlier.
And for that\u2014I\u2019m giving myself credit. \ud83d\udc9b<\/p>\n

\n

Because it\u2019s only in the pause<\/em> that I can recognise and celebrate the fruits of my labour. \ud83c\udf4e\u2728<\/p>\n

Even on low-energy days, I take comfort in how far I\u2019ve come.
\ud83d\udca1 I\u2019ve changed my routine and upgraded my lifestyle.
\ud83d\udee0\ufe0f Tweaked my environment and replaced old habits with healthy boundaries.
\ud83d\udc65 I\u2019ve become more intentional about the energy of the people I surround myself with.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re small shifts that make a massive<\/em> difference.
It hasn\u2019t been easy\u2014but it\u2019s been necessary.
And it\u2019s working.
\ud83c\udf31 Progress isn\u2019t always loud.<\/p>\n

\n

I lived in survival mode for so long, I didn\u2019t realise the stress I was putting on my body.
Breakdowns became my body\u2019s only language\u2014after a lifetime of systemic failures. \ud83d\udc94<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had to learn how to rebuild amidst<\/em> the chaos:
\ud83c\udf0a After burnout.
\ud83d\ude37 After COVID.
\ud83d\udc94 After deep personal and professional losses.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve unravelled identities, systems, and strategies that once helped me \u201ckeep it together\u201d\u2014but no longer fit who I\u2019m becoming.<\/p>\n

\n

I\u2019m not going back<\/em> to work.
I\u2019m rebuilding from the ground up. \ud83d\udd01<\/p>\n

These days, I work best behind the scenes\u2014
And occasionally, I do the things I love. \ud83c\udf99\ufe0f<\/p>\n

Some days, I can hold space for others. \ud83d\udcac
Other days, it takes everything I\u2019ve got just to show up for me<\/em>. \ud83e\uddcd\u200d\u2640\ufe0f<\/p>\n

And in between?
I\u2019m learning what sustains me\u2014
And what slowly drains the life out of me.<\/p>\n

\n

\ud83d\udc8c If you’re navigating your own return to work\u2014after burnout, diagnosis, trauma, or transition\u2014this is your permission to pause.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The space you create to breathe, reflect, and recalibrate?
That\u2019s not weakness.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s wisdom<\/strong>. \ud83c\udf1f<\/p>\n

You\u2019re not falling behind.
You\u2019re healing.
And healing counts as work, too. \ud83e\udde9<\/p>\n

\n

\ud83d\udde3\ufe0f I’d love to hear from you:<\/h3>\n

What have you learned to pause for lately?
Where are you gently rebuilding from the inside out?
\ud83d\udc47 Drop me a message or comment if this resonated with you.<\/p>\n

\n

\ud83d\udd16 Hashtags:<\/h3>\n

#FromPushThroughToPause #HealingIsWorkToo #NeurodivergentLife #BurnoutRecovery #EnergyMatters #RestIsProductive #RebuildDontReturn #MenopauseAwareness #WorkingDifferently #TraumaInformedWork #BehindTheScenesHealing #SystemicFailureToSustainableLiving #InvisibleWork #ReclaimingEnergy #PermissionToPause<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\ud83c\udf00 From Push Through to Pause: Rebuilding Work, Energy & Identity from the Ground Up Most days, I feel completely present and in flow\u2014\ud83c\udfa7 usually when I\u2019m working one-to-one.And then there are days like today. Days where I can be fully there for others\u2026And then find myself needing to lie on the sofa for a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hopeful-elgamal.88-208-215-195.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hopeful-elgamal.88-208-215-195.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hopeful-elgamal.88-208-215-195.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hopeful-elgamal.88-208-215-195.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hopeful-elgamal.88-208-215-195.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hopeful-elgamal.88-208-215-195.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hopeful-elgamal.88-208-215-195.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hopeful-elgamal.88-208-215-195.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hopeful-elgamal.88-208-215-195.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hopeful-elgamal.88-208-215-195.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}