Sacred Systems: From Burnout to Soul-Led Living
For so long, I thought discipline was the answer.
Push harder. Wake up earlier. Stick to the plan. Don’t stop. Don’t feel. Don’t rest.
That was the rhythm I lived in as a collegiate athlete; the first 17 years of my life shaped by someone else’s orders. And on the outside, it looked like strength. But on the inside, I was learning how to silence myself. To override exhaustion. To numb emotions. To keep going, even when my body was screaming for rest.
That kind of discipline doesn’t make you free. It makes you a stranger to yourself.
Structure Without Soul
Even before sports, structure was complicated for me. I grew up being told I wasn’t organized enough, wasn’t disciplined enough, wasn’t doing things “the right way.” I carried labels like irresponsible when the truth was, I was just a kid raising herself without the right tools.
So when I finally found structure in athletics, I clung to it. It gave me order. It gave me identity. But it also taught me to push through instead of honor my own rhythm.
And when you live that way long enough, you forget what your natural rhythm even is.
The Truth About Systems
Here’s what I’ve come to learn: your nervous system is the real CEO. If your body feels unsafe, pressured, or in chaos, the systems you build will reflect that. If your body feels regulated, rested, and rooted, your systems will reflect that too. This is why so many of us burn out in life, in business, in relationships.
We’re forcing ourselves into cages disguised as systems; routines that suffocate instead of support.
But systems don’t have to be cages. They can be containers for freedom.
Sacred Systems
The universe already teaches us this through the Law of Rhythm. Life moves in cycles : inhale, exhale | summer, winter | growth, rest. But somewhere along the way, we were taught to live like it’s always summer. Always producing. Always on. Always proving. That’s not how nature works. That’s not how you work either. Sacred systems are different. They honor the cycles. They honor your body, your energy, your truth. They’re not built on control; they’re built on devotion. For me, the shift came when I stopped seeing my schedule as “work time” and started calling it “devotion time.”
Devotion to my vision.
Devotion to my body.
Devotion to the life I’m here to live.
That reframe changed everything.
The Laws at Play
Law of Cause & Effect → the energy you pour into your days is what your life becomes. If you move unconsciously, you create misalignment. If you move intentionally, you create alignment.
Law of Correspondence → as within, so without. Your inner world is always mirrored in your outer systems.
Law of Vibration → your frequency calls the shots. A burnt-out nervous system can only create more chaos. A grounded one creates safety, connection, flow.
Law of Rhythm → there’s a time to bloom and a time to rest. Fighting that truth leads to burnout. Honoring it leads to freedom.
Law of Truth → authenticity is the only alignment. Pretending you’re okay when you’re not, suppressing emotions, or forcing routines that don’t fit will always catch up.
My ADHD Truth
I live with ADHD, which means “consistency” never looked like the way the world expected it to. Every planner I abandoned felt like failure. Every time I couldn’t stick to the rigid routine, I told myself I wasn’t disciplined enough. But I was disciplined; years of athletics proved that. The truth was, I wasn’t broken. I was just trying to live inside systems that weren’t made for me. Systems that demanded output but didn’t honor my cycles, my creativity, my energy.
The Reframe
Now, I build sacred systems that hold me instead of control me. I balance structure with play. Focus with freedom. Devotion with rest. I let myself experiment, DJ, move countries, fall in love, rebuild. I let myself be all of me. And I’ve realized: the quality of my nervous system will always be the quality of my work.
Journal Reflections
Feel free to answer these in your journal or record your answer in your voice memo’s
Pause and ask yourself:
🌿 Where are you forcing yourself into systems that don’t honor your energy?
🌿 How often do you override your body in the name of “discipline”?
🌿 What rhythm could you reframe as devotion instead of obligation?
🌿 What truth might be buried under your burnout, boredom, or chaos?
🌿 What would freedom actually feel like in this season of your life?
Sacred systems aren’t about perfection. They’re about safety, intention, and truth.
Because the moment your nervous system feels safe, your soul can finally feel free.
And that’s where your real life begins.
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