Description

Nearly a decade after first writing about “pressing the escape key,” I’m revisiting what self-care really means in 2025. Spoiler: it’s not about waiting for a once-a-year vacation or a system-wide crash to finally rest. It’s about creating micro-escapes — tiny daily choices that protect us from burnout, restore our energy, and bring us back to ourselves.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Why burnout has become a modern badge of honor (and what Brené Brown calls “exhaustion as a status symbol”).
• The arrival fallacy: why finishing the list never feels like enough.
• How micro-habits retrain your brain (with insights from James Clear’s Atomic Habits).
• Why “cognitive load” — the simple act of remembering everything — drains us more than we realize.
• Practical ideas for creating “everyday vacations,” from naps and bookstore strolls to unplugging from email and tech.

I also share personal stories about resisting rest, what I discovered on vacation, and how I finally stopped letting email run my life.

👉 Grab my free Exhaustion Meter Quiz + Daily Micro-Escapes Checklist here.

And don’t miss the bonus journal prompts below to help you take this episode deeper.

If you’ve ever felt drained, overwhelmed, or stuck in busyness, this episode will remind you: self-care isn’t indulgence — it’s survival. And even the smallest escapes can create the biggest shifts.

Bonus Journal Prompts ✍️

1. What are the inherited stories or beliefs about rest and productivity that I’m still carrying — and do they actually serve me?
2. If I gave myself a daily “micro-vacation,” what would it look like? (Five minutes, one action, no guilt.)
3. Where in my life am I numbing with busyness instead of giving myself permission to feel?
4. Which of today’s “menu of escapes” resonated with me most, and how can I build it into my week?
5. When was the last time I felt truly restored, and what small element of that could I recreate today?

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🎶 Music Credit:
“Seize the Day” by Andrey Rossi, via #Uppbeat (uppbeat.io/t/andrey-rossi/seize-the-day)

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© 2025–present Susan Kricun. Love From the Inside Out™ is a trademark of Susan Kricun.

All rights reserved. All opinions are my own. This podcast is educational, not medical or legal advice.