When Guilt Wears a Blazer
A somatic reframe for high-functioning burnout
Welcome to Iteration #3 of Standup & Surrender
This is part 3 of the Favorite Self series. A weekly dispatch of drop-ins with high-capacity leaders who don’t need “fixing”, just remembering.
This week: Casey returns.
You might remember her from the first iteration.
Back then, she was burned out and buffering.
Now?
She’s got her spark back—but something else showed up.
🌀 The Drop-In
When Casey and I reconnected, she was no longer in the “fog” of burnout.
She had clarity. Energy. Vision.
Safely moving forward. Receiving new signals.
“I’m not crashing anymore,” she said.
“I feel… trapped though. Like I’m in a glass box.”
She’d healed somewhat by slowing down.
There was one voice still running the show.
We named him Guilty G.
Capitalism in a productivity hoodie.
He’d evolved.
Swapped his hoodie for a blazer.
Started speaking in corporate-approved tones.
“I thought I got rid of him,” she said.
I congratulated her; this is what burnout prevention looks like.
Finding the deeper layer of the system that made her spark disappear in the first place.
「✦ Casey’s Insight ✦」
I didn’t stop being productive.
I just stopped outsourcing my worth to it.Guilt used to wear a hoodie.
Now it wears a brand voice and calendar invites.I don’t hate Guilty G.
He helped me survive.But he doesn’t lead anymore.
I do.
🔮 Casey’s Return Map
We remapped her inner system using 4 recalibration pillars:
Each one connects to one of the six core pivots she made.
🔴 Reclaim the Inner Signal : Slow → Feel → Lead
🔵 Let Safety Lead Strategy : Safety > Rest
🟢 Stay in Somatic Authority : Internal Safety
🟡 Pause the Productivity Reflex : Buffering ≠ Behind📍Here’s how she got there:
① The new loop: Slow → Feel → Lead
Casey used to speed up when things got hard.
Panic made her productive.
She called it “taking charge.”
But really, it was just a controlled collapse.
Now?
She pauses.
She breathes.
She listens for the deeper loop.
Slow → Feel → Lead.
Discomfort is no longer a threat.
It’s a signal.
Not something to fix → something to follow.
Problems don’t mean she’s broken.
They mean her presence is being requested.
② Productivity isn’t proof of value
Guilty G used to whisper:
“If you don’t publish today, you’ll disappear.”
So Casey created religiously.
From terror instead of truth.
Every post became proof of worth.
A performance for relevance.
Until she stopped.
She let silence speak.
She created from resonance, not urgency.
From overflow, not fear.
Productivity is an expression of existence, not the definition of it.
③ Rest isn't the goal. Safety is.
Casey didn’t need more naps.
She needed to stop bracing.
Beneath every “I’m fine” was a flinch.
A body waiting for backlash.
For the next shoe to drop.
We stopped optimizing for output.
And started practicing safety.
Not just breaks, but repair.
When her body felt her own voice again,
the momentum returned.
Not because she forced it.
Because she was finally safe enough to move.
④ You’re not behind. You’re buffering.
Casey was proud of her pace.
Fast. Nimble. Always on it.
So when she slowed down, guilt crept in.
“Am I losing it?”
“Am I falling off?”
But she wasn’t behind.
She was buffering.
Processing.
Integrating.
Catching up to her own insight.
Buffering ≠ failure.
It’s the nervous system syncing to the truth.
Now she honors the pause.
Because she knows what comes after it:
Breakthrough.
⑤ Presence is productivity.
This became her anchor.
Productivity used to mean checkboxes.
Now it means: Can I stay here?
In the moment.
In the room.
In the truth.
She started showing up with less—
but landing with more.
Because clients don’t just want her content.
They want her presence.
And she can only offer what she feels herself.
⑥ You don’t need to be seen to be safe.
This was the last lock.
Casey had tied safety to being perceived.
To applause. Approval.
Visibility = validation.
But the likes never lasted.
And the algorithm was never a stable home.
So she stopped asking to be seen.
And started anchoring in the unseen.
Breath by breath.
Body to body.
No optics needed.
Just one inhale at a time—
from her Favorite Self.
💬 Want to feel this clarity for yourself?
Reply to this email or DM me.
You’ll get a link to book your own 15-minute drop-in.
You don’t need to fix anything.
You just need space to feel what’s already whispering beneath the noise.
📰 Missed the first post with Casey?
👉 Read her origin story here
🔁 Missed last week’s post?
→ Meet Ava – The Intuitive Creative
🟣 Integration Prompts:
What “blazer” is your guilt wearing this week?
What part of you still believes you have to earn your rest?In 🍇 awareness,
Dan