It Takes Years
What I learned about burnout, hiring, and letting God set the pace.
I had an epiphany recently.
For a while I’d convinced myself I must be kind of a boring person, because I don’t have any hobbies. No pickleball. No scrapbooking. No sourdough starter with a name.
Then I corrected myself.
It turns out I do have hobbies. My hobby is building businesses. Or playing music. Or encouraging like-minded women. I don’t collect crafts — I collect businesses, books, theology, spreadsheets, and questions.
Somehow, it all works.
But here’s the thing about people like us — the ones whose “hobby” is building. The thing we love is also the thing that can take us out. Because when your work is your joy, nobody warns you when you’ve crossed the line from building to burning.
I read somewhere that it takes years to recover from burnout.
YEARS.
Not a weekend. Not a week. Not a nice two-week vacation where you come home “refreshed” and dive right back into the same pace that emptied you in the first place.
Years.
I let that sink in, and I made a decision: I don’t want to go there again. Not from work. Not from ministry. Not from family. Nothing I love is worth losing years to recover from.
Here’s what that looks like in real life, not just on paper.
My tax firm finally feels like I’ve almost learned how to balance on my new wheels. This summer I hired a new Enrolled Agent to get us through extension season. I’m hopeful it works out and turns into something full time.
But that wasn’t Plan A.
Plan A was to go all in — hire someone to replace me outright. I pushed for it. I couldn’t make it happen. And honestly? I’m thankful I couldn’t.
Because every time I tried to force it, something in my spirit stayed unsettled. And I’ve learned that an unsettled spirit is one of the ways the Lord gets my attention. This slower option — the summer hire, the wait-and-see, the smaller step — sits so much better in me.
That’s not settling. That’s listening.
Let me be clear about something: I don’t want to not work.
Working is fun. It’s productive. I get to meet great people, play good music, and have great conversations. Work isn’t the enemy.
The pace was the enemy.
So that’s what I’m rebuilding — not a smaller life, a sustainable one. A pace that’s healthy, enjoyable, and something I can actually keep. Not the pace the world sets. Not the pace my own ambition sets when nobody’s watching.
God’s pace.
If you’ve been there — if burnout took something from you and you’re wondering if it comes back — it does. But not on your timeline. And maybe that’s the whole lesson.
You don’t have to stop building. You just have to trust Him with the pace.
You are called. You are capable. You are not done yet. Serve. Heal. Evolve.
🤍 — Tajni | SHE Ventures