How to know what to do with your life

Some advice I gave to a friend suffering from burnout and misalignment. On purpose and listening to the whispers before they shout.

Hi friends,

Last week I had a beautiful conversation with a friend who is approaching a period of transition, and showing warning signs that if she doesn’t make changes soon, burnout is beckoning.

I’ve long said that our body speaks to us in whispers, and then in shouts if we neglect it. I’m afraid that in her case, some of those whispers are becoming shouts. So she asked me, “what should I do?”

We talked. And later she said (screenshot for proof): You need to tell other people what you’ve told me. It will help them.

No need to say more.

So I asked AI to transcribe our conversation (they were mostly audio notes), and I hope what you need finds you. If any of this is helpful, I am grateful.

With care,

Kat

Photo by Moritz Kindler

My 10 pieces of advice to you:

1. Alignment is health. When there’s misalignment, you’ll know if you are paying attention.

2. Your work should reflect your highest self. Even if it’s not your ‘passion’ or it’s “just” to pay the rent. When work begins to compromise your sense of dignity, values, or truth, you will start to notice signs of burnout.

3. If we betray ourselves for too long, a different kind of exhaustion takes over our lives. Being busy is okay. Sometimes you can be busier than ever and healthier, lighter, and happier, if you’re aligned. If you’re not, the answer isn’t fewer hours or a part-time job.

4. Ask better questions. Try this one: Is the work I’m doing aligned with who I am becoming — if that becoming is my truest, most authentic, and highest self?

5. Listen to your body. When we start listening — really listening — to what our bodies are trying to say, often the message is as simple as: prioritise yourself. Not out of selfishness, but out of sacred responsibility. Because if you don’t, your body will eventually find a way to shout what your soul has been whispering all along.

6. You have intuition. You need to use it.

7. Follow the quiet urges. That pull to write, create, or serve in a way that feels slightly irrational? Follow it. Even if it feels delusional. Because most of what’s beautiful in this world began as something unreasonable. When you feel called to create, to love, to serve — that’s not delusion. That’s alignment with your design.

8. No one pioneers to a distant land, or makes a film that changes hearts, or builds a life of meaning by being merely practical. The fire of love, as Bahá’u’lláh says, “burneth to ashes the harvest of reason.”

9. You were made with purpose. We all were. Our unique capacities are meant to be lived, not buried beneath reasonableness.

10. Don’t throw everything away. Reframe. Maybe the goal isn’t to quit everything and start anew. Maybe it’s to reframe your life so that even the ordinary becomes an expression of purpose. Maybe your day job pays the bills and gives you freedom to write. Maybe it gives you space to raise your kids, to serve your community, to build a marriage rooted in love. If so, then your task is to hold that work lightly. See it not as the enemy of your dreams, but as the ground from which they can grow.

I love you. Please don’t wait until the whispers become shouts. You already know what to do. Honour your body, heart, and spirit, by listening.

With care,

Kat

p.s. I’ve closed my 1:1 mentoring for this year (with gratitude) but if this work calls to you, please message me for 2026 openings. I wish nothing more than to be at your service.