It was my body.

From the outside, I looked exactly like someone who had it together.

I learned early that looking cool, calm and collected was part of the job. I got good at it. I’d say ‘no worries!’ when I was absolutely worried. I’d say yes to ownership beyond my capacity. I’d take on the emotional highs and lows of my team to keep them happy, motivated and successful.

I had the title, the team, the calendar full of meetings, the reputation for being the one who always delivered.

Inside, I was running on something that felt like adrenaline and pure will. I’d make lists just to feel in control. I’d over-prepare for meetings so no one could question me.

My body was sending subtle signs. I woke up tired even after sleeping (yes my kids definitely contributed). My patience got thinner. I felt like I was always on, always bracing, always one interruption away from snapping. I remember losing it over a box of cereal dumped on the carpet because I had zero buffer left… and reflecting back that my reaction was just as bad as my toddler’s when I peel the banana “wrong.”

I told myself it was a season. I told myself it was normal.

Every ambitious mom I knew looked like she was doing the same thing.

I kept lowering the bar for what I considered feeling ‘fine.’

Until in reality, I was far from fine. Very far.

If any part of you is thinking, ‘I’m fine, I’m just tired,’ I get it. But could that be a bigger signal?

A Full Life vs an Unsustainable One

Understanding burnout became important to me because it gave me a map.

It helped me stop treating my symptoms like a personal failure and start paying attention to what my body was trying to tell me. It was the first step toward what I now call The Fulfilled State.

And let me be clear: Working hard is not the problem. A 45-hour week might be intense, but it can be normal.

What isn’t normal is needing 60 to 80 hours to keep up.
What isn’t normal is feeling your chest tighten every time an email comes in.
What isn’t normal is living with a nervous system that never powers down.

99% of moms said they feel society puts pressure on women to ‘do it all and be it all’ in Peanut’s State of Invisibility Report. This is the root cause for many of us.

I’m not here to convince you to opt out of your ambition, or to sell you some fantasy version of “balance.”

I’m here to help you see the difference between a full life and an unsustainable one.

Today I’m going to share a simple diagnostic system for you:

• a 2-minute self-assessment to set your baseline

• the 5 Faces of Burnout based on Maslach Burnout Inventory

• the early-warning signs before burnout becomes obvious

You’ll be able to recognize your pattern and take one small corrective move this week.

If you’re high-functioning and quietly struggling, this is going to feel uncomfortably accurate.

The Diagnosis That Changed My Outlook

But first I want to give you the real unfiltered story of how I hit my burnout breaking point.

In 2019, I got pregnant for the first time, then suffered a miscarriage at nine weeks. To say I was affected emotionally would be an understatement. And time would reveal the physical impact too.

But I only took two days off, then went right back to work. I told people I had the flu. I hated myself for lying. And I hated that lying felt safer than telling the truth.

Because I had my year’s biggest event coming up. Because I was already anxious about telling work I was pregnant.

A few weeks later, strange rashes appeared on my hands.

Then more symptoms. Months of testing, appointments, and uncertainty.

I kept thinking, please don’t let this be real, while also knowing something was already wrong.

I was finally diagnosed while pregnant with Caden with a rare autoimmune disease called….

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You might not think you’re burned out.
Because you still show up. You still perform. You still get things done.

You’re capable. Reliable. Trusted. You’re the person people count on because you always come through. You’re the mom who packs the lunches, remembers spirit day, schedules the dentist, and still shows up to work prepared. You’re the one who says yes when something needs to get done, even when your calendar is already full.

From the outside, your life looks exactly like the life you’ve worked day in and day out to build.

And that’s what makes this season feel so confusing.

You wanted this life. You built it intentionally. You don’t hate your job. You don’t regret becoming a mom. You’re proud of what you’ve created. In many ways, you genuinely love your life.

You just don’t feel fully like yourself inside it anymore.

Motherhood changes us fast. Faster than we expect. We step into it and keep going, often without stopping to take stock of how different we are than we were before. There’s an unspoken pressure to keep performing the same way we always have, with the same energy, the same availability, the same drive, even when our lives have fundamentally shifted.

Somewhere along the way, being capable turned into being constantly available. Being ambitious turned into being endlessly accommodating. You became very good at holding everything together, sometimes at the cost of listening to your own limits.

You kept climbing. You kept achieving. And it often came with more stress, more pressure, sometimes even anxiety you didn’t expect or recognize at first.

And you keep adapting.

At the start of every year, you feel that familiar pull. This will be the year you’re more present. More intentional. More in control of your time. You make plans. You set boundaries. You genuinely mean it.

Then life happens.

A sick kid. A school email. A deadline that moves up. A season that asks more of you than you expected. Little by little, intention gives way to autopilot. Not because you don’t care, but because everyone needs you and it feels easier to adjust yourself than disappoint someone else.

There’s guilt in wanting something to change when your life looks good. Gratitude and confusion coexist, and it can be hard to explain that without feeling dramatic.

But this isn’t about choosing between being a present mom and building a life that lights you up. It’s not about blowing things up or starting over. It’s about realizing that the chapter you’re in is different from the one you planned for.

If you’re honest, the questions you’re circling aren’t “what’s wrong with me?”

They’re quieter. More grounded.

Who am I now?
What actually lights me up in this season?
And how do I build what’s next without abandoning myself in the process?

These aren’t signs that something is broken.
They’re signals that you’ve outgrown a version of your life that once fit, and you’re ready to build one that fits who you are now.

This is the work at the heart of The Fulfilled State.

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If you’re new, I’m Barbara (if you’re not, skip to the next paragraph). I’m a San Francisco mom of two and a former tech marketing exec turned entrepreneur. My first business, New Modern Mom, also the name of my personal brand across Substack, Instagram, Podcast, is a boutique media and marketing agency. I tap into my former career to partner with brands like Coterie, Perelel, Hiya Health, and Bobbie to build high-impact campaigns. My second is MNTSTUDIO, where we’re building the first Wellness Social Club. We combine athletic Pilates, recovery, and community all in one beautiful space. We have 3 locations in the Bay Area and more on the way.

For the last few months, I’ve been working quietly on something I thought would eventually be a “proper” book. It was a 12-part roadmap to designed living, basically a reflection of my own mess through corporate burnout, identity shifts after becoming a mom, and that terrifying pivot to entrepreneurship.

But here’s the truth: I don’t have the capacity to write a book right now.

Between scaling my businesses, monthly IV treatments for an autoimmune disease (I’ll be sharing more about this), school drop-offs, and travel, there are just too many balls in the air. I realized that waiting for an “official” format was just delaying the work that actually matters: sharing the story while I’m still in the middle of it.

So I’m done waiting. I’m publishing The Fulfilled State as a monthly essay series for paid subscribers right here. No more overthinking… just action.

When my son was born, I was already burning out; I just didn’t have the words for it yet. By age 30, I was a VP managing a global team of 10. I was climbing the ladder, pushing hard, and telling myself it was all working because I was doing what I was “supposed” to do. By the time my daughter arrived, I was on autopilot, living as a “false self” that looked successful on paper but felt unmotivated, unhealthy, and quite frankly, lost inside.

I stayed in that identity longer than I should have, until I finally couldn’t.

Leaving corporate was terrifying, but it was the moment I started rewriting the story, not just for my career, but for how I parent and lead. Today, I work more hours than ever, but it doesn’t feel like “work”. My life feels aligned because I stopped chasing “balance” and started designing for what actually matters.

That’s what I call The Fulfilled State.

It’s not about finding “balance” because that doesn’t exist. It’s a process of looking at your life honestly, letting go of what no longer fits, and building sustainable systems and habits that reflect your values. It’s about reclaiming your agency in your work, your identity, and your ambition.

The roadmap we’re following*:

1. When Success Stops Working – The 5 faces of burnout you aren’t recognizing.

2. Personal Fit > Corporate Ladder – Lessons from the Dark Horse Project.

3. The Science of Thriving – Exploring Self-Determination Theory.

4. Permission to be “Good Enough” – Reframing perfectionism.

5. Reclaiming the Real You – Shedding the performance of your False Self.

6. Your Unfair Advantage – Mastering your Superpowers and Zone of Genius.

7. Making Sh!t Happen – How to take action before you feel ready.

8. Building Identity on Purpose – Using micro-habits to become the person you want to be.

9. The Freedom Paradox – Why structure is the only thing that actually sets you free.

10. Designing a Life that Works – Prototyping a life you don’t need a vacation from.

11. The 80/20 Rule – Moving from reactive healing to proactive thriving.

12. The Power of Intentional Resets – Creating space for big ideas and evolution.

This is for anyone who has outgrown the box they were told to fit into and is ready to build something more intentional, sustainable, and true.

*Subject to change.

What to Expect as a Member

I’m introducing a premium tier of membership here to support this work. Each month, you’ll get one new essay in The Fulfilled State series, along with occasional Deep Dives on how I keep moving when things feel chaotic.

Members also get:

• Weekly drops of my in-depth European Summer Camp research.

• My Top ChatGPT Prompts: The exact prompts I use to save 20+ hours a week and make AI sound like me.

• Entrepreneurship Behind-the-Scenes: Monthly views into my journey scaling MNTSTUDIO from 3 current locations toward our goal of 50 in the next 5 years. (okay, I’m cringing putting that out there in public)

For everyone (free or paid): Starting this week, my free biweekly newsletter is shifting into a new format, The Shortlist: a quick, skimmable note sharing my current favorite products, places, and services.

Founding Member Rates

To access the full roadmap and my new Deep Dive series, hit “Subscribe” and choose a paid plan.

🚨 As a thank you for your support, I’m offering you a Founding Member rate of 40% off if you sign up this month ($5/mo or $50/yr).

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Why Now?

Because this story has been waiting in me for a long time. Because perfection is no longer the prerequisite for sharing. Because fulfillment doesn’t start when the book is “finished.” It starts when I stop waiting and take action.

I’m so excited to finally share this with you,

Barbara

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