Internal alignment - your burnout defense strategy

Ron Pratt, a recent Awaken graduate, empowers LGBTQ+ professionals to overcome burnout (which is something I've experienced more than once.)

That's why I'm thrilled that Ron can help so many others, after learning the keys for himself. At Awaken, we're all about alignment at every level - our behaviors, and how we carry them out, come from a deep place of spiritual and identity alignment, bolstered by supportive beliefs.

Ron writes:

"Working in Corporate America, I burned out twice and teetered on a third burnout. I didn’t burn out just because I worked too many hours.

Some weeks I work just as much—maybe even more—than I did back then.

The difference?

Alignment.

Here’s what people get wrong about burnout:

It’s not just about working long hours.
It’s about working in ways that drain you instead of energizing you.

Some people burn out because they’re grinding 24/7.
Some burn out because they have zero control over their success.
Some burn out because their work doesn’t align with what truly matters to them.

For me, the shift started with a simple but powerful value: *I want to enjoy my work.*

For others values might include:

✅ “The freedom to step away if my kids need me.”
✅ “The autonomy to make my own decisions.”
✅ “The respect that comes with meaningful work.”

Along with my values, I needed my work to be in alignment with my purpose.

I’m on a mission to help people live with integrity—body, mind, and emotions.

When our work conflicts with our values and isn’t in alignment with what matters to us; inspiration dies and every day feels like a grind.

In Chinese Medicine, there's a beautiful concept: "the will that does not need to be willed."

When you're truly aligned with values and purpose, work becomes effortless. Time disappears. You enter what psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls "flow state."

In this state, work doesn’t just get done—it *pulls* you forward.

Misalignment isn't just uncomfortable - it's exhausting, every step feels like pushing a boulder uphill.

Burnout isn’t just about hours worked.
It’s about *why* you’re working them."

Thank you, Ron, for this powerful truth.