Mindful Sherpa

How I Learned to Navigate Burnout as a Woman in the Workplace

admin — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 18:47:13 +0000

For a long time, I didn’t realize I was burned out, I just thought I needed to try harder. I told myself I was lucky to have the job I had, that I should be grateful, that being tired was normal. So I kept going. I kept showing up, delivering, supporting everyone else, while slowly feeling more disconnected from myself.

Burnout didn’t hit me suddenly. It crept in quietly. I felt constantly exhausted, emotionally drained and strangely numb toward work I once cared deeply about. Rest no longer felt restful, even when I stopped, my mind didn’t. What I’ve learned since then has changed how I see work, success and myself.

I learned to listen when my body started whispering

Before burnout screamed, it whispered — brain fog, irritability, a heavy feeling in my chest every Sunday night. I ignored those signs because I thought pushing through was strength. Now I know burnout is my body asking for honesty. When I finally named it, without shame, I stopped fighting myself and started healing.

I stopped tying my worth to how much I could carry

I realized how often I overworked to prove I was capable, reliable and “easy to work with.” Saying “yes” felt safer than setting limits, being helpful felt like survival. But constantly giving more than I had slowly drained me. Learning to do what was required, rather than everything possible, was uncomfortable at first, but it also gave me some of my energy back. And I still require check-ins with myself to notice when I am over-extending myself again — it requires life-long attention, it is not something that can be “fixed” once and for all.

I started setting boundaries to protect my energy

Boundaries used to feel selfish. Now they feel like self-respect. I began pausing before responding and letting messages wait. I started saying “no” without long, guilt-ridden explanations. I allowed myself to not always be emotionally available at work. And guess what? Nothing broke. Work went on. But something inside me started to soften.

I had to unlearn the belief that rest must be earned

This was the hardest lesson. I believed rest was a reward for productivity, for exhaustion, for finishing everything. When burnout slowed me down, I felt ashamed, like I was failing. It took time to accept the truth that I am worthy even when I rest. I don’t have to prove my value by being constantly productive.

I stopped waiting for vacations to recover

One week off couldn’t undo months of overwhelm. Healing had to happen in the small moments. I started taking short walks, eating lunch away from my screen, breathing before moving from one task to another and creating tiny pauses in my day where my nervous system could exhale.

Burnout didn’t heal all at once. It softened slowly, over time. One important practice that became my “saving grace” was starting to practice mindfulness and establishing a meditation routine. That continues to be the invisible force that supports me, without fail.

I learned to ask for support without apologizing

I practiced saying simple, honest things:
“I’m at capacity right now.”
“I need to reprioritize.”
“I can’t take this on.”

Each time I spoke up, I felt a little more grounded. None of this came naturally after a lifetime of pushing through, but it became necessary.

I remembered who I am outside of work

Burnout made my world small, but recovery expanded it again. I reconnected with movement, nature, quiet mornings and conversations that had nothing to do with deadlines or performance. I remembered that I am more than my job title. I remembered how creative my soul is, how much it craves learning and how deeply it loves sharing with others and being in community.

Navigating burnout as a woman isn’t about becoming tougher or more resilient. It’s about becoming more honest with my limits, my needs and the cost of constantly “pushing though”. It’s also about coming back to my feminine side, the one that had been quietly neglected through years of pushing, striving, “achieving” and living in constant “doing” mode. Rest is not something to earn after breaking. It’s something to choose before you do.

As women, our bodies also move through natural biological transitions. After the age of 35, subtle perimenopausal changes can begin to show up, often emotionally and mentally before they are physical. These shifts are normal. They are not something to be ashamed of or “fixed”. They are invitations to listen more closely, understand what’s happening within us and make gentler, more supportive choices for ourselves, wherever we are on the journey.

And perhaps that is the deepest lesson burnout taught me: my body is not the problem. It is the guide that teaches me how to listen, regulate my mind and move through my thoughts and emotions with more care.

The post How I Learned to Navigate Burnout as a Woman in the Workplace appeared first on Mindful Sherpa.

What Time Reveals

admin — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 16:51:23 +0000

I recently came across an article I wrote eight years ago for a friend’s blog. She was running a feature on restaurants and, knowing about my travels, invited me to contribute. Reading it again today and reflecting on its meaning, I’m struck by how consistently my focus has been on people and experiences.

I’m sharing this for two reasons. First, it’s a lighthearted piece, something playful and uplifting, which feels especially welcome during a gloomy January in Northwestern Europe. Second, it’s a reminder that understanding our true nature often takes time and reflection. Alongside present inner inquiry, sometimes, there is merit in looking back, as that can support our seeing the deeper threads that have always been there.

This is an invitation to revisit something you created in the past. It doesn’t have to be a written piece, it can be anything at all. Look at it with fresh eyes and try to understand who you were at the moment you created it. Then reflect on how that version of you still shows up today and in what ways you recognize the same traits carrying through.

Why does this matter? Because it reveals what you value, what draws your curiosity and what has remained with you over the years. We all change, change is inevitable, but there are certain elements that endure. Taken together, they form your true nature.

I hope you enjoy this little exercise. Below, I’m sharing the aforementioned article for your amusement.

Love,
Adina

Top 5 restaurants from all over the world that will amaze you

There’s no doubt about it – I am a foodie! Hence my constant battle to stay in shape… To me, food is not just the daily fuel that we all need to function, it is a pretext for living new experiences, it is a ritual of both preparation and enjoyment whether at home or at a restaurant. I have travelled extensively and needless to say that restaurants have always constituted a large part of my itinerary. As such, I’m happy to share my memories of a few restaurants that always come to mind whenever I’m engaged in conversations about traveling and wining & dining.

1. Per Se in Time Warner Centre, New York – Per Se is one of the restaurants owned and operated by the much acclaimed chef, Tomas Keller who owns the famous French Laundry in Napa Valley. It is a 3 Michelin star restaurant located in the Time Warner Centre in Columbus Circle, mid-Manhattan with beautiful views of the heavily trafficked intersection and Central Park. As you would expect from a fine dining restaurant, I enjoyed an impeccable service, divine food and the expertise of one of the best sommeliers I ever came across who took time to explain each of the 10 wines paired with the 10 course tasting menu we had. If you plan on going there, make sure you go in good company as dinner lasts for about 4 hours and as much as the dining experience will offer you entertainment on its own, you might still want some good conversation. Cost wise – it ain’t cheap! It’s the second most expensive restaurant in New York after Masa, chef Masayoshi Takayama’s famous Japanese joint. And that reminds me of Kappo Masa, the famous Japanese chef’s newer restaurant opened in collaboration with Larry Gagosian and located in the latter’s Madison Avenue gallery in Upper East Side – best Japanese food I ever tasted, but that’s a story for another time.

2. Mandolin, Miami – I have debated for a while whether to write about Cipriani in Downtown Miami or Cecconi’s at Soho House Miami, but in the end I decided on Mandolin, a charming Greek/Turkish restaurant located in the middle of the Design District. Somewhere around 3 on a price scale from 1 to 5, Mandolin genuinely feels like a piece of Greece was lifted and dropped in the NE 2nd Ave, Miami surrounded by chic independent fashion boutiques and big luxury brands like Dior and Christian Louboutin. Opened in 2009 by husband and wife team Ahmet Erkaya and Anastasia Koutsioukis who moved from New York to fulfil a lifelong dream of owning a traditional restaurant that serves simple, unpretentious and healthy Mediterranean food, Mandolin is exactly that. A place that is delighting its guests with delicious and hearty dishes that have that homemade taste which can only come from kitchens where passion and love for food represent the barometer they measure themselves by. My main course was moussaka which reminded me so much of the one my mom used to make when I was a child that it truly sent me off on a path of pleasant nostalgia and reminiscing. The outside seating area of the restaurant is surrounded by Mediterranean vegetation and vine which gave it a homely cosy feeling. Well, at least for me, because it strikingly resembled my granny’s back garden where I spent one too many summers eating fruit and veg picked fresh right from her garden. If you want to go there, make sure you book in advance, it is pretty hard to get a reservation and that applies for any evening of the week as the place is packed with locals in love with Greek cuisine as well as some scattered tourists like me.

3. Al Mahara at Burj al Arab, Dubai – Ok, Al Mahara is truly impressive, there’s no two ways about it! Set in the opulent Burj al Arab hotel in Dubai, when you enter Al Mahara your jaw drops. The restaurant has a strong underwater feel thanks to a wall-to-ceiling gigantic cylindric aquarium set in the middle of the restaurant and a subtly lit lighting system. I will go as far as saying that I wasn’t even paying that much attention to the food because I was too busy staring at the hundreds of fish (and a few sharks) swimming in the aquarium. If you go here, make sure to have seafood, they claim it’s the best seafood in Dubai and I tend to agree. It comes at a price though! In my opinion, this restaurant is a great spot for a romantic dinner followed by drinks at the Burj al Arab Skyview Bar – I promise, you will love the views from this glitzy cocktail bar.

4. Miss Ko, Paris – Miss Ko is Philippe Starck’s latest venture in Paris just off Champs-Élysées on the famous Avenue George V where the luxurious Hotel George V is located. This restaurant will fulfil anyone’s need for aesthetics, but it also serves beautiful Japanese food and mouth-watering cocktails. It is not overly expensive and it’s a perfect venue for dinner on a Friday or Saturday night before hitting the French capital’s nightclubs. The music is on a similar note as Buddha Bar or Cafe del Mar or actually more of a love child between the two. It will definitely set you in the right mood for the dance floor.

5. Zuma, winter pop-up in Phuket, Thailand – Having dined at and loved Zuma Dubai and London, I was delighted to have the opportunity to try this world-renowned restaurant’s winter pop-up in Phuket this January. It was set on the grounds of the beautiful Anantara Layan, overlooking the pool and the beach. I fell in love with the place from the first step I took into the venue. It felt so luxurious, yet so simple and welcoming. Like most Southeast Asian 5 star hotels, the simplicity of the wooden structure of the restaurant coupled with charming lighting, exotic plants and water features on a background of chillout Asian music gave this venue a somewhat surreal feel that lingered over you even after you moved on to a beach bar for post-dinner drinks. The beach was magically lit with fire torches and carefully arranged dim lights which added to this intoxicatingly dreamlike ambiance. It reminded me of the atmosphere in a restaurant called Qbara which is a gorgeous Middle-Eastern restaurant located in Wafi City in Dubai. Food wise, the must here is of course fish and seafood, after all it is a modern Japanese restaurant. But please don’t miss the miso-marinated black cod, it is the best I had out of the 3 Zuma restaurants I have visited to date. Pair that with a cold Sancerre and you’ll be in for a treat. It’s not cheap, but it’s definitely worth every penny.

And with this said, I think that that’s it from me, folks! When Corina asked me to write about my top 5 favourite restaurants, I genuinely panicked thinking which ones I should pick. I love SO many places that I could write a book, not an article… But in the end, I am pretty happy with what I shared above and should the opportunity arise again, I will be more than glad to share some more. I hope you find this useful throughout your travels and quest of memorable culinary experiences.

Oh and one last thing. Where to next for me? Well, there are so many restaurants that I would love to try. But the one that jumps at me right now as I am writing this is French Laundry by Thomas Keller. And that’s for 2 reasons really – it is located in the Napa Valley which is high up on my travel list and also I loved the dining experience at Per Se so much that I am extremely curious about what its sister venue has to offer.

The post What Time Reveals appeared first on Mindful Sherpa.

How to Prioritize Your Mental Health This New Year

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 14:52:07 +0000

By the time February arrives, the noise has usually settled. The bold New Year’s resolutions, the “this is your year” posts, the pressure to reinvent yourself overnight, most of it has faded. And honestly? That’s not a bad thing.

Because mental health doesn’t thrive in urgency. It thrives in honesty, softness, and intention. So if you’re reading this any time beyond January, know this: you’re not late. You’re right on time.

Here are a 5 key areas you can review and reset as needed.

1. Stop treating rest like a reward

Somewhere along the way, many of us learned that rest must be earned. That we’re allowed to slow down only after we’ve done enough, achieved enough, proven enough. But how about you try something different this time around?

Rest doesn’t need permission. It’s not laziness. It’s maintenance. Prioritizing your mental health starts with allowing yourself to pause before burnout and not after. To take a day off without justifying it. To breathe without feeling guilty. You don’t need to collapse to deserve rest.

2. Redefine what “progress” actually means

Not all progress is visible. Sometimes progress looks like:

Saying no without explaining yourself
Leaving a conversation that drains you
Choosing peace over being right
Going to bed earlier instead of pushing through

In a world obsessed with external success, mental health asks a quieter question: How do I feel inside my own life? Try measuring progress by how safe, calm and grounded you feel, not just by what you accomplish.

3. Be more intentional with your energy, not just your time

Time management is useful. Energy management is essential.

Notice what lifts you and what depletes you. Notice who you feel like yourself around and who requires you to perform, shrink or over-explain.

You don’t need to cut everyone off or change your entire life overnight. Just start paying attention. Awareness alone can be deeply healing and informative.

Your mental health improves when you stop spending your energy on things that don’t truly matter to you.

4. Make space for feelings, even the uncomfortable ones

This year doesn’t need to be about “staying positive” all the time. Mental health isn’t about avoiding sadness, anxiety or uncertainty. It’s about creating enough inner safety to let those emotions exist without judging yourself for them. Learn how to dance with life, no matter what it brings.

You’re allowed to feel tired. You’re allowed to feel lost. You’re allowed to not have everything figured out yet.

Healing begins when you stop fighting your inner experience and start listening to it.

5. Choose a slower, kinder vision for yourself

You don’t need a dramatic transformation this year. You don’t need to become someone else.

Maybe prioritizing your mental health simply means:

Living a little slower
Being gentler with your expectations
Creating a life that feels good, not just looks good

February is a beautiful time to begin again, quietly, intentionally, without the pressure of spectacle. Let this be the year you choose yourself not loudly, but consistently.

Because a calm mind, a regulated nervous system and a sense of inner peace will always be worth more than any resolution you abandon by spring. And you don’t need January’s permission to start.

The post How to Prioritize Your Mental Health This New Year appeared first on Mindful Sherpa.