Black Girl Burnout

With so much feeling heavy right now, Kelley makes the case for doubling down on whimsy, not despite how hard things are, but because of it. She shares a three-step framework for getting delight back into your life, why whimsy doesn't require money or a vacation, and why joy and grief can coexist without one canceling out the other.Key TakeawaysWhimsy isn't frivolous, it's exactly what we need when everything feels hard. Waiting for perfect conditions to feel delight means waiting forever.The three-step whimsy framework: remember what delighted you as a kid, experiment without judging whether it "fits" your life, then find and pursue the delight by actually putting it back in.Whimsy doesn't require money or a complete life overhaul. Try asking, "How can I make this 10% more delightful?" instead.Joy and grief can coexist. Being joyful doesn't mean you don't understand what's happening in the world, it means you're choosing something different anyway.Episode Highlights & Timestamps08:00 The three-step framework for bringing whimsy back: remember, experiment, find and pursue delight14:00 The "10% more delightful" challenge, and why you should stop saving things for a special occasion17:00 Whimsy without spending: why delight doesn't require money20:00 Why joy and grief can coexist, and why survival can't be the full measure of your lifeGentle InvitationThis week, name one thing you loved in the past that you haven't done in a long time. Try it, and do it with maximum delight, for no better reason than it will make you smile.Support the ShowIf you'd like to make a one-time gift in honor of this milestone and support the continued work of Black Girl Burnout, you can donate through Ko-fi at ko-fi.com/blackgirlburnout.Like, follow, and subscribe across all platforms. Find us @blackgirlburnout.Subscribe to our newsletter at blackgirlburnout.com. Watch on YouTube. Drop a review, your words make a real difference, and they warm Kelley's whole heart every single time.Stay in TouchJoin our Substack family for weekly reflections, tools, and behind-the-scenes notes from Kelley.Become a paid subscriber ($8/month) for exclusive resources and monthly workshops.Our SponsorsSavvy Ladies Free Financial Helpline: https://www.savvyladies.org/Advertising Inquiries: RedCircle | Privacy & Opt-Out: RedCircleAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

After a few heavier episodes, Kelley comes in with a celebration of fall, her favorite season. Working off the quote "Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go," she walks through her personal Fall Inventory, five gentle questions about what to release and what to welcome in as the season turns, with zero self-judgment required.Key TakeawaysFall is an invitation to let go, not another season to optimize or berate yourself. Reflection can be gentle instead of punishing.Comfort and coziness aren't selfish or lazy, they're the pathway to safety. And safety isn't a one-time act, it's a ritual you repeat.The Fall Inventory is five questions: what are you letting go of, what are you leaning into, what keeps you cozy, what keeps you safe, and what keeps you optimistic.Optimism is a natural byproduct of safety and comfort, not something you force or tie to hitting a specific goal or number.Episode Highlights & Timestamps01:00 The quote that inspired the episode, "Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go"03:00 What are you letting go of this fall? (Kelley lets go of obsessively tracking goals and numbers)06:00 What are you leaning into? (Prioritizing coziness and a slower pace)14:00 What's keeping you safe? Why safety is a ritual, not a one-time act9:00 What's keeping you optimistic, and why it's a natural byproduct of safety and comfortGentle InvitationPick one or two of the five questions, what to let go of, what to lean into, what keeps you cozy, what keeps you safe, what keeps you optimistic, and gently reflect. No self-judgment required, just curiosity.Support the ShowIf you'd like to make a one-time gift in honor of this milestone and support the continued work of Black Girl Burnout, you can donate through Ko-fi at ko-fi.com/blackgirlburnout.Like, follow, and subscribe across all platforms. Find us @blackgirlburnout.Subscribe to our newsletter at blackgirlburnout.com. Watch on YouTube. Drop a review, your words make a real difference, and they warm Kelley's whole heart every single time.Stay in TouchJoin our Substack family for weekly reflections, tools, and behind-the-scenes notes from Kelley.Become a paid subscriber ($8/month) for exclusive resources and monthly workshops.Our SponsorsSavvy Ladies Free Financial Helpline: https://www.savvyladies.org/Advertising Inquiries: RedCircle | Privacy & Opt-Out: RedCircleAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Kelley tells the story of a surgery that went wrong, and the email from her job that made her realize she'd been doing her life wrong: "So when are you coming back?" In this solo episode, she unpacks what self-abandonment gave her, what it cost her, and how it doesn't just harm you individually, it changes how we relate to each other too. She closes with a three-step practice for staying open instead of closing off.Key TakeawaysSelf-abandonment can work for a while, it makes you look dependable, gets you opportunities, even more money. But the bill always comes due, sometimes as burnout, sometimes as a health crisis.Ambition isn't the problem. The problem is leaving yourself behind while chasing it.Self-abandonment doesn't just cost you individually, it costs community too. Depleted, distrustful work environments teach us to be suspicious of each other, even other Black women who genuinely like each other.When jealousy or comparison shows up, get curious instead of combative. Ask what you actually want, and how you can move differently, not how to take it from someone else.Episode Highlights & Timestamps00:00 The surgery that went wrong, and the email that changed everything, "So when are you coming back?"04:00 What self-abandonment actually looked like day to day09:00 What self-abandonment cost Kelley, individually, health-wise, and long-term11:00 How depleted work environments teach Black women to distrust each other14:00 A three-step practice for staying open: sit with it, get curious, ask "how can I get what they got?"Gentle InvitationThis week, notice one place you might be abandoning yourself for a short-term win.Ask yourself: how can I keep my hand open without handing myself over?Support the ShowIf you'd like to make a one-time gift in honor of this milestone and support the continued work of Black Girl Burnout, you can donate through Ko-fi at ko-fi.com/blackgirlburnout.Like, follow, and subscribe across all platforms. Find us @blackgirlburnout.Subscribe to our newsletter at blackgirlburnout.com. Watch on YouTube. Drop a review, your words make a real difference, and they warm Kelley's whole heart every single time.Stay in TouchJoin our Substack family for weekly reflections, tools, and behind-the-scenes notes from Kelley.Become a paid subscriber ($8/month) for exclusive resources and monthly workshops.Our SponsorsSavvy Ladies Free Financial Helpline: https://www.savvyladies.org/Advertising Inquiries: RedCircle | Privacy & Opt-Out: RedCircleAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Kelley is doing Hot Takes today. In this solo episode, she breaks down three money myths circulating as the economy gets shakier: the belief that you need more income streams, that entrepreneurship is an automatic escape from a bad job, and that every hobby needs to become a hustle, and offers a grounded, researched alternative to the panic.Key TakeawaysMyth: you need more ways to make money. Truth: go deeper before you go broader. Social media isn't a reliable revenue stream, and deepening the skills and relationships you already have often pays off more than chasing seven new income streams.Myth: entrepreneurship is an escape hatch from a hard job. Truth: it's a different kind of stress, not a lesser one. It requires financial runway, high tolerance for uncertainty, and a level of discipline most people underestimate.Myth: everything valuable in your life needs to make money. Truth: hobbies don't need customers. Protect at least one thing in your life that exists purely for joy, not revenue.Relationships over reach. Ten people who trust your work and are willing to pay you will do more for your financial security than a million casual followers.Episode Highlights & Timestamps02:00 Myth #1: You need more ways to make money, and why social media isn't a reliable income source14:00 How to vet anyone selling you a "how to make money" program (the receipts test)24:00 Myth #2: Entrepreneurship is an automatic escape hatch from a bad job34:00 Myth #3: Don't monetize your hobbies, protecting the things that are just for joy39:00 Relationships over reach: the story of rebuilding her business after losing a year of work in three daysGentle InvitationThis week, resist the urge to add. Instead, pick one thing to deepen, one relationship, one skill, one income stream you already have. Ask yourself: am I making this decision from strategy, or from panic?Support the ShowIf you'd like to make a one-time gift in honor of this milestone and support the continued work of Black Girl Burnout, you can donate through Ko-fi at ko-fi.com/blackgirlburnout.Like, follow, and subscribe across all platforms. Find us @blackgirlburnout.Subscribe to our newsletter at blackgirlburnout.com. Watch on YouTube. Drop a review, your words make a real difference, and they warm Kelley's whole heart every single time.Stay in TouchJoin our Substack family for weekly reflections, tools, and behind-the-scenes notes from Kelley.Become a paid subscriber ($8/month) for exclusive resources and monthly workshops.Our SponsorsSavvy Ladies Free Financial Helpline: https://www.savvyladies.org/Advertising Inquiries: RedCircle | Privacy & Opt-Out: RedCircleAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Kelley names three wars she believes so many Black women are fighting right now, wars we've been mislabeling as something else entirely. In this solo episode, she unpacks the war with ourselves (that we call self-improvement), the war with our community (that we call accountability), and the war with the world (that we call activism), and makes the case for stepping out of all three and choosing peace instead.Key TakeawaysThe war with yourself often gets mislabeled as self-improvement. Urgency, self-punishment, and arbitrary deadlines aren't growth, they're just a fight with yourself in disguise.The war with community often gets mislabeled as accountability. There's a real difference between holding someone accountable and piling on. Call people in before you cut them off, and hold boundaries with love, not cruelty.The war with the world often gets mislabeled as activism. Anger alone isn't activism. Real change comes from being steady and grounded, not embattled.You can't fight three wars at once and survive it. Noticing which battle you're actually in is the first step to choosing peace instead.Episode Highlights & Timestamps03:00 The first war: mistaking self-punishment for self-improvement07:00 The second war: when accountability turns into pile-on culture and cruelty14:00 Calling people in instead of cutting them off, and holding boundaries with love16:00 The third war: confusing anger with activism18:00 Three questions to ask yourself before you go to warGentle InvitationThis week, notice which war you're in, with yourself, with your community, or with the world. Ask yourself: is this actually a battle I need to be in, or one I wandered into? You don't have to win it today. Just notice it's there.Support the ShowIf you'd like to make a one-time gift in honor of this milestone and support the continued work of Black Girl Burnout, you can donate through Ko-fi at ko-fi.com/blackgirlburnout.Like, follow, and subscribe across all platforms. Find us @blackgirlburnout.Subscribe to our newsletter at blackgirlburnout.com. Watch on YouTube. Drop a review, your words make a real difference, and they warm Kelley's whole heart every single time.Stay in TouchJoin our Substack family for weekly reflections, tools, and behind-the-scenes notes from Kelley.Become a paid subscriber ($8/month) for exclusive resources and monthly workshops.Our SponsorsSavvy Ladies Free Financial Helpline: https://www.savvyladies.org/Advertising Inquiries: RedCircle | Privacy & Opt-Out: RedCircleAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy