Avoiding Burnout and Listening to Your Inner Compass
Familiar habits and comfortable jobs are hard to change. They make our lives easier to manage in an era of constant stimulation and distraction. It is easy to settle into comfort zones and forget that risk introduces us to new landscapes — and new parts of ourselves. It is understandable why we remain in familiar territory and try to quiet the inner yearning that tells us we are ready for something different.
How to know when it’s time for a change?
Sometimes, the invitation to change arrives quietly.
And sometimes, it arrives disguised as a glitch.
I’m a Wooden Pony on a Carousel
It began with an iPhone glitch.
It was Saturday afternoon, and I was at the gym finishing my cardio warm-up when my phone got stuck on a single song. I hit fast forward. It moved to the next track — and then immediately snapped back. I closed the app. Reopened it. Same thing. I debated a hard reset and decided instead to accept the glitch.
And honestly, if a phone was going to stay stuck on one song, this was a good one.
My phone had apparently decided that I needed to fully absorb the wisdom of The Best Time by Cloud Cult.
As I dismounted the bike, the first verse began again:
It’s a perfect day to remind myself to feel
I’m always busy pushing rocks uphill
With a pillowcase over my head
I couldn’t see that this might be the best time of my life.
I moved to the leg press machine and settled in.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5…
And then my inner voice arrived with a grin.
She sat down beside me.
“Good time to figure out a plan for your conversation on Tuesday?”
6, 7, 8…
Tuesday.
I had a meeting scheduled with my boss. My working agenda was to address an exchange we’d had the previous Thursday — one that had hurt my feelings, stirred defensive anger, and been complicated by genuine compassion for how much she carries.
9, 10, 11…
Was this really about that exchange?
Or had I normalized exhaustion?
Had I mistaken busyness for alignment?
Was I trying to make her understand something I hadn’t fully admitted to myself?
12, 13…
“Stop,” my inner voice said gently. “This isn’t about her. This is about you.”
She pulled out my inner compass. It was dusty from lack of use yet unmistakably vibrating — pointing away from my current path.
“You’ve been ignoring this.”
15, 16, 17…
I exhaled a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
“What do you want?” she asked.
The answer came quickly.
“I’m tired of this pace. I want scheduling flexibility. I want time and space to expand Still River. I want energy for the work that lights me up from the inside out. I’m tired of feeling so tired. I want to feel inspired and creative in what I’m doing every day.”
18, 19, 20. Rest.
The next verse played:
I try to cover up my mental health
But the truth is, I’m not well
Round and round, here I go again
I couldn’t see that this might be the best time of my life.
Round and round.
Here I go again.
Carousel.
Habit.
Set two.
1, 2, 3…
“What needs to happen for that to happen?” she asked, still holding the compass.
4, 5, 6…
“I need to stop working full-time for someone else,” I said slowly. “I need the time and energy to expand what I’m able to offer — to write more, to create new things, to grow the work that already feels aligned.”
7, 8…
The refrain played:
And I never meant to take you for granted
Habit is the enemy of presence
But the days, they all just started getting blurry on me.
Blurry.
That word landed.
The days were accumulating and running together. My routines were so packed there was no space for new opportunities to enter. I was living slightly out of sync with myself — especially the part that longs for adventure and creative exploration.
9, 10, 11…
We sat quietly through the rest of the set while my body and mind absorbed the truth.
I moved to the chest press.
The next verse began:
It’s a perfect day to get out of my head
Finally, be okay with where I am
All I want is to be a better man
I could see that this might be the best time of my life.
1, 2, 3…
“What scares you?” my inner voice asked, sitting cross-legged on the gym floor next to my water bottle.
4, 5, 6…
“I’m not sure.”
“Are you worried about the boys?”
7, 8, 9…
That was a fair question. Worry about my children is a steady companion. It would make sense if it were driving this hesitation.
10, 11, 12…
I did an internal scan.
13, 14, 15. Rest.
And in that moment, I was struck by its absence.
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Why not?”
I met her eyes.
“Because we’re going to be okay. I won’t let us not be okay.”
My inner voice grinned and wiped the remaining dust from the compass. It vibrated more clearly now — steadier, brighter.
Set two.
But I got a mind that’s putting me through hell
I’m a wooden pony on a carousel
Round and round, here I go again.
“Hey, Jen?” she said.
I raised my eyebrows.
“It sounds like it’s time for a new adventure.”
I nodded slowly.
Something inside me opened.
13, 14, 15. Rest.
The final verse played:
It’s a perfect day to finally break the spell
Get me off this carousel
I need help to be a better man
I need to beat it ’cause this might be the best time of my life
I need to see it like this might be the best time of my life.
As I worked my way around the weight machine circuit while the song continued on repeat, a plan began to form — practical, measured, thoughtful. It wasn’t impulsive. It wasn’t reactive.
It pointed me toward where I wanted to travel.
By the time I walked to my car, I was physically tired and emotionally clear. My inner voice and my inner compass were in agreement on a forward path.
And so was I.
I took out my AirPods and plugged my phone into the charger.
The song ended.
It moved to the next one.
No glitch.
I glanced at my inner voice in the rearview mirror.
She shrugged and grinned.
“Yeah,” she said. “It wasn’t a glitch.”
Some messages repeat until we’re ready to hear them.
Esperanza
Years ago — long before I ever heard the Cloud Cult song — I wandered into a Mexican folk art store in Austin that was closing. Among the treasures that came home with me was a white carousel pony. She wears a colorful bridle and saddle, but her front legs are reared, as if caught mid-breakaway.
I named her Esperanza — hope.
She stands in that magical middle space between carousel confinement and open-field freedom. Suspended between repetition and possibility.
I appreciate that the artist captured that exact moment — the instant she lifted her front feet from the carousel. We often forget that magical middle space as we summon the courage to move beyond fear and reach toward the unknown.
How to Know When It’s Time for a Change? A Closing Reflection
There is nothing quite like watching horses run free. It is majestic and awe-inspiring. They are prey animals with kind souls and wise eyes, wired to stretch their legs and run. Their calm, soulful presence steadies us when we feel exhausted by the effort to be seen and understood.
If this story had an epilogue, it would say that 18 months after that gym workout, my time in that job ended. It wasn’t a graceful ending. Freedom rarely is. But it felt a bit like Esperanza stepping off the carousel — uncertain, unsteady, and finally able to move as she chose.
Esperanza now sits in a special place in our family room, next to Giovanni’s Christmas unicorn, Ronan Magic. They are fitting companions — one reminds me to leave room for magic, and the other reminds me that we are meant for more than settling into unexamined lives.
When self-doubt visits, I sometimes hold Esperanza. I trace my fingers along her body. I inhale courage and exhale worst-case imaginings. I give her head a final pat, return her to the shelf, step off the carousel — and follow my inner compass forward, quietly humming the refrain of The Best Time.
As we ready ourselves for the Year of the Horse, may we reflect on what we are ready to release — habits, fears, expectations — so that we, too, may run more freely.
Ubuntu, fellow travelers.
Jennifer
P.S. As the Year of the Horse gets underway, we’ll continue exploring self-doubt and courage in motion. The third installment of the Self-Doubt series arrives next week.
In the meantime, you might revisit:
- When Self-Doubt Visits (Part 1)
- How to Work with Self-Doubt Instead of Letting It Stop You (Part 2)
- The Best Time by Cloud Cult
This reflection was originally published on Still River Counseling’s Substack under the title Wooden Pony on a Carousel and has been thoughtfully revised and expanded here.
© 2026 Jennifer Ayres, PhD | Still River Counseling, PLLC Written with care for fellow travelers navigating life’s changing currents. 🌐 StillRiverCounseling.com | 📍 Austin, TX
Gentle Reminder: The reflections shared here are intended to offer insight and support. They are not a substitute for therapy or professional mental-health care, and reading this blog does not create a therapeutic or doctor–patient relationship.
