What to Do When You Want to Burn It All Down
May 19, 2025
If you’ve ever opened your laptop, stared at the screen, and thought, “I can’t do this anymore,” I want you to know you’re not broken, you’re not failing, and you’re definitely not alone. You’re probably just tired. Really tired. And possibly overdue for a moment to just pause and breathe.
This isn’t a blog about strategy. There’s no funnel talk here. No to-do list. This is for the moments when you want to light your entire business on fire, toss your phone in the lake, and move to a cabin in the woods with no Wi-Fi.
Sound familiar? Me too.
Let’s talk about what to do when you’re ready to burn it all down without actually setting fire to everything you’ve worked so hard to build.
First: Call It What It Is
That feeling of wanting to torch your business is usually not about the business itself. It’s burnout. Or resentment. Or emotional exhaustion dressed up in client calls, school drop-offs, endless to-dos, and zero room to breathe.
It doesn’t mean you’re on the wrong path. It means you’ve lost sight of your path for a little while. And instead of seeing that as a failure, I want you to see it as a flag. A signal. A moment to pause, reassess, and realign.
What Not To Do
When you’re in this space, there are a few things we are absolutely not going to do:
We’re not archiving our entire Instagram feed.
We’re not ghosting our inbox.
We’re not canceling everything and pretending we never started.
We’re also not slapping a motivational quote on it and pushing through like nothing’s wrong.
None of that is helpful. None of that is healing.
What To Do Instead
You need space. You need clarity. You need permission to let go of the parts that are no longer working even if they once did.
Also, I say this with love. Check where you are in your cycle. Burn-it-all-down energy tends to show up strong in the luteal phase. It doesn’t mean your feelings aren’t valid, but timing matters. Give yourself grace.
Before you start over completely, take a deep breath and ask yourself these three questions:
- What’s actually draining me right now
- Is it an offer that no longer lights you up? A boundary you’ve let slide? A schedule that doesn’t serve your season of life?
- What would feel lighter
- Not what would look better. Not what would impress someone on the internet. What would actually feel good for you?
- If I were starting this business from scratch today, what would I leave out
- This is your chance to get honest. Journal it. Write it all out. Let it be messy and true.
You don’t need a rebrand. You probably need a reset. You need an exhale. You need a break from your inbox more than anything.
Get Out of the Business to Come Back to Yourself
When I feel like lighting everything on fire, I don’t double down on hustle. I unplug. I spend time with my kids. I step outside. I watch trash TV. I read romance novels. I let myself fully escape for a moment so I can return with clarity and calm.
Because the truth is, when you’re buried in burnout, the last place you need to be is in your business. You need to step away from the noise in order to reconnect with yourself.
You’re Not the Only One
At our live event in April, I asked a room full of women to stand if they’d ever wanted to light their business on fire and move to a cabin. Everyone stood except one. I’m convinced she’s figured something out the rest of us haven’t and I will absolutely be inviting her onto the podcast.
So hear me when I say this. You’re not alone. You’re not weak. You’re not doing it wrong.
Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do isn’t to burn it all down. It’s to rebuild it with intention. Slowly. Softly. In a way that feels like home.
Your Next Step
Take 15 minutes.
Open your journal.
Answer those three questions with no filters and no fixing.
Let your truth rise to the surface.
And if you need help making sense of what stays and what goes, that is what we do inside the community. That is the magic of mentorship. But for today, just start with the pause.
You do not need to hustle your way out of this. You just need to come home to yourself again.
And if that means lighting a few things on fire so something better can grow, I’ll be here holding the match.
