Sometimes the strongest move is pulling back
I reached out to a few people I deeply respect recently.
People who know me well.
People who’ve seen me push, build, stretch, and carry a lot.
We had long back-and-forths. Deep conversations. Hard questions. Honest feedback.
And somehow… every conversation landed in the exact same place.
I just need to give myself some damn grace.
Naturally, my first reaction was to reject that immediately.
That can’t be it.
No way.
My mind went straight to:
What else can I do to be better?
What more can I take on?
There has to be something I’m missing.
And that’s the trap of the insecure overachiever.
It’s never enough.
We push harder.
We stack more responsibility.
We chase the next milestone — and the second we hit it, it becomes the new baseline.
No pause.
No acknowledgment.
No space to feel proud.
And here’s the part most people miss.
This mindset doesn’t just show up in work.
It shows up in your health.
You stay late at work, skip the workout.
You answer one more email instead of cooking.
You tell yourself you’ll focus on your health “when things slow down.”
So you push harder at work…
while your body quietly starts falling behind.
Low energy.
Poor sleep.
Nagging aches.
Zero patience.
Workouts that feel heavier than they should.
But instead of pulling back, you do what high performers always do.
You try to do more.
More caffeine.
More intensity.
More discipline.
More pressure.
That’s like trying to add weight to the bar when your form is already breaking down.
At some point, strength isn’t built by adding more load.
It’s built by fixing the foundation.
This is where seasons matter.
Yes, there are seasons to push.
To grind.
To go all in on something that matters.
A lot of people don’t need rest — they need to take action.
But if you’re anything like my clients…
If you’re already carrying a lot…
If you’re already disciplined…
If you’re already showing up…
Then the hard thing isn’t doing more.
The hard thing is believing you don’t have to.
Sometimes progress looks like:
Leaving work on time so you can train.
Fueling your body instead of running on fumes.
Sleeping instead of squeezing in “one more thing.”
Pulling back just enough to recover — so you can actually move forward.
That’s not weakness.
That’s intelligent training.
That’s sustainable performance.
That’s how results compound instead of burn you out.
Right now, my work isn’t about overachieving in every area of life.
It’s about trusting that I’m already doing enough — and letting my body catch up to the life I’m asking it to support.
If you’ve been feeling run down, stuck, or like your health keeps taking a back seat…
This might be your permission slip.
Not to quit.
Not to lower your standards.
But to pull back just enough to build real strength again.
Where do you feel like you’re pushing the hardest right now… and what do you think your body is asking for instead?
Shoot me a reply back, I’d love to hear from you.
Much love,
Mackenzie