A Personal Reflection on Ambition, Burnout, and Learning to Let Go
I used to think I’d know when I had “enough” of overemployment. It was always only going to be a temporary thing. Enough money. Enough success. Enough stability to finally exhale and slow down. I told myself that once I reached a certain number in my bank account ’d give myself permission to breathe.
But the truth is I didn’t know how to stop.
I kept chasing. One more month, one more project, anything to keep the extra stream of income. It started as a strategy for freedom, but somewhere along the way, it turned into a lifestyle.
Eventually, I had to ask myself a hard question:
When is enough… actually enough?
It Wasn’t About the Numbers
I hit some of the milestones I thought would bring peace: better pay, more flexibility, more financial freedom. But each time my bank account grew, it just moved the goalpost. I realized that “enough” isn’t a number. It’s a feeling.
The Warning Signs Were Quiet, But Constant
I didn’t crash all at once. It was more like a slow erosion.
- I was showing up to meetings in my J2 on autopilot, barely present.
- I’d finish a productive day and still feel guilty for not doing more.
- I was physically present at home but mentally still at work.
- Family moments felt like distractions, not priorities.
The pressure wasn’t coming from one job or one deadline—it was the weight of everything I had willingly stacked on my own shoulders.
The Cost of “More” Started to Outweigh the Benefit
At some point, I had to be honest: the life I was designing was becoming unsustainable.
Sure, I had more income. But also more stress.
More responsibilities. But less time.
More “success.” But less connection, to myself and to the people I care about.
The very things I thought I was working for, freedom, security, family time, were slowly being crowded out by the pursuit itself.
Redefining My Version of “Enough”
So I sat down and asked myself:
What does enough actually look like for me?
Here’s what I came up with:
- Enough money to live comfortably, not anxiously.
- Enough time to be present with the people I love.
- Enough energy to wake up without dread.
- Enough work to feel challenged, not consumed.
I realized I didn’t want to escape work. I just wanted to escape the version of work that left no room for anything else.
Letting Go of the Guilt
One of the hardest parts was learning that choosing “enough” doesn’t mean settling. It means choosing intentionally.
I had to let go of the guilt of stepping back.
The fear of missing out.
The internal voice that said, “You could do more…so why aren’t you?”
But here’s what I’ve found: once you define your “enough,” you don’t miss the extras. You miss the peace that came with saying no.
So…When Is Enough Enough?
For me, it was when I realized that more wasn’t making me happier, healthier, or more fulfilled.
It was when I stopped feeling proud of how much I could juggle and started craving the simplicity of doing fewer things better.
And it was when I gave myself permission to want a good life, not just a productive one.
Unfortunately, I only learned this when my employment at J2 was forcibly ended (see the reason why here), took 1.5 months for myself, then found and “settled” for J3, which provided a much better work-life balance while sacrificing some salary. But it was the best decision I made as it taught me to find a happy balance between filling my time leftover from J1 with a company that treats me like a human being, which set the bar high and set me up for success in my subsequent overemployment searches.
If you’re reading this and you’re constantly chasing, constantly measuring yourself against the next milestone, or having trouble letting go over your side hustle or second job, let me leave you with the same question I had to ask myself:
If this isn’t enough… what would be?
And what might you gain if you finally decided it already is?
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Double Clocked 