Feeling stuck in a job that’s draining you but too scared to make a change that looks crazy on paper? This one’s for you.
I sat down with LauraAura, keynote speaker, coach, and host of The Gutsy Podcast, to talk about what it actually takes to make a bold move when you’re burned out and second-guessing everything.
We get into why the thing you want most is usually hiding behind the thing you resist most, why you shouldn’t make big decisions from a place of exhaustion, and how small moves build the momentum you need to change direction. Laura also shares the gutsiest move of her own career, selling the branding agency she ran for years to go all in on speaking and coaching.
If you keep talking yourself out of what you want, this conversation will help you spot what’s really holding you back and figure out your next step.
Resources:
- Follow LauraAura at lauraaura.com
- Listen to The Gutsy Podcast (lauraaura.com/the-gutsy-podcast/)
- Connect with me at tarakermiet.com
Don’t make a big move while you’re burned out
I work with people who are so drained they can barely make a grocery list, let alone a life-changing decision. LauraAura’s take lined up with mine: burnout is the worst place to make a permanent call from.
When you’re running on empty, everything looks like too much, and the fear does the talking. The move isn’t to struggle through a huge leap. It’s to get some capacity back first, so you can actually hear yourself think.
Hesitation is usually resistance in disguise
When someone knows what they want and still won’t move, LauraAura doesn’t read that as laziness or a lack of clarity. She reads it as resistance.
The thing you want most tends to sit right behind the thing you resist most, because wanting it means risking it.
Once you see hesitation as a signal instead of a stop sign, you can get curious about what’s really underneath it.
Small moves build the momentum
Gutsy doesn’t have to mean blowing up your life in a single afternoon. LauraAura’s case is that small moves count, and they stack. One honest conversation. One boundary. One tiny experiment that proves the sky won’t fall.
Momentum is what makes the bigger moves feel possible later, and you build it one unremarkable choice at a time.
Decide whether you’re staying or going first
One of my favorite parts: there’s a real difference between someone who’s genuinely not ready and someone who’s just talked themselves into believing it. The clarity comes from deciding your direction before you touch the tactics.
Are you staying and changing the fit, or are you leaving? Answer that first, and the next steps stop feeling so scary.
Gutsy looks different for everyone
There’s no universal standard for a gutsy move. For one person it’s quitting. For another it’s finally saying no, asking for the raise, or letting an old version of themselves go. LauraAura’s invitation is to define what gutsy means for you, not to copy someone else’s bold move.
The gutsiest move LauraAura ever made
LauraAura’s own story ties all of this together. In her basement during COVID, after years running a branding agency, she stopped and asked herself a question she’d been avoiding: what does Laura actually want? The honest answer led her to sell the agency she’d built and go all in on speaking and coaching.
It’s the exact move she now helps other people make.
I’m Tara Kermiet — career coach, burnout strategist, and host of The Balanced Badass Podcast®. I help high-achievers and corporate leaders design careers that are successful and sustainable.
Here, you’ll find tactical tools, leadership lessons, and burnout education that just makes sense.
👉 Start by taking my free Burnout Drivers Mini Assessment
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