I don't think most women are burned out. I think they've been slowly disappearing — and burnout is just the word that's easier to say out loud.

We're exhausted. Overwhelmed. Running on empty. Trying to keep up, trying to hold it all together.

So we tell ourselves we just need a holiday. A massage. A better morning routine. A little more balance.

Sometimes those things help. Sometimes they don't.

Because burnout isn't always about doing too much. Sometimes it's about becoming someone you were never meant to be.

I've sat with countless women who aren't simply tired. They're disconnected — from what matters, from their intuition, from the woman they were before life turned into one long list of responsibilities.

They've become exceptional at leading everyone else. Somewhere along the way, they stopped leading themselves.

I know this because I've lived it.

For years I believed resilience meant pushing through. Keep going. Work harder. Be grateful. Stay positive. Hold it together.

Then life reminded me that some things can't be pushed through. Grief taught me that. So did leadership.

Real resilience isn't pretending you're okay. It isn't carrying more, or proving how strong you are. It's learning when to pause, what to let go of, and how to choose yourself — before your body, your relationships, or your spirit choose for you.

That's why I no longer teach women how to cope. I teach them how to reconnect: to restore their energy, rebuild self-trust, and rediscover direction.

Because the goal was never just avoiding burnout. The goal is becoming the kind of leader who doesn't have to abandon herself to succeed.

Leadership begins long before anyone follows you. It begins in how you speak to yourself, how you care for yourself, how you respond when life doesn't go to plan.

That's the resilience I'm interested in. Not surviving — leading. With a clear mind and an open heart.

Are you seeking to find clarity, confidence and courage?

Like to learn more about developing resilience through life challenges?

Niky offer’s her Rise UP program for women online as well as her Lead Her UP retreats for women.

• Find out more about her retreats here

• Listen in to Niky’s Synergy Women podcast here