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Career Reset After Burnout: Goodbye 2025, You Humbled Me but Gave Me My Life Back

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My Career Reset After Burnout

2025 wasn’t the year I planned. What I thought would be freedom – turned into exhaustion, anxiety, and a much-needed career reset after burnout. This year humbled me, broke a few illusions, and somehow gave me my life back.

The title sounds dramatic, I know. And maybe in the grand scheme of things, it is. But 2025 kicked my ass. It was a year of ups and downs, of being shaken sideways and left wondering where the hell my life was going.

For most of my life, I believed each year would get better than the last. But at 43, something shifted. Life started feeling mundane, relentless — like the world never stops spinning and there’s nothing particularly special about any of it.

The Dream That Wasn't

2025 started with big dreams. I was finally going to work for myself.

I’d spent years as a Project Manager, working on cool projects, doing reasonably well. But there was always this nagging question: Is there more for me?

More. That elusive dream of complete happiness and satisfaction, like there’s some finish line out there where everything clicks into place.

So I took the leap. I left my job with a plan to freelance as a Project Manager—same work, just self-employed. I had savings to fall back on, time to find my passion. It felt like the right move.

Except it didn’t feel right at all.

I’m very much led by my feelings, and when something doesn’t sit well with me, I pivot. So I pivoted back toward employment. I applied for jobs — many jobs. A few interviews came through, but nothing landed. And honestly? None of them felt right either.

So I gave freelancing a proper go. I found clients. I offered services: Asana boards, workflows, PM coaching, VA admin work. But I struggled to price myself fairly. I went too cheap, attracted cheap buyers, and worked my ass off for good reviews and humiliating pay. All while still burning through my savings.

After a few months, the reality hit me: I needed to get back into a job before the money ran out.

Eventually, I secured not one but two job offers. I took the first one.

What I Actually Learned

Looking back, I can see how emotionally chaotic I was. At the start of 2025, I had no idea what I wanted. By the end, I realised I didn’t want to freelance at all. I appreciated having a job — being employed — in ways I never had before.

I needed structure. I couldn’t build my own. I needed a clear goal to focus on, not a revolving door of different clients every week. And I needed a decent wage — enough to pay my mortgage and cover essentials without the constant anxiety.

But here’s what really got me: Why did I feel the need to be self-employed in the first place?

I think I became a victim of society’s obsession with entrepreneurship. Social media’s relentless message that working for yourself is somehow better, more rewarding, more real.

That’s not what I found.

What I found was a new appreciation for employment. For the protections that come with it. For the simplicity of a good, decent job. For what I already had before I threw it away chasing someone else’s dream.

The Growth I Almost Missed

At first, I didn’t think I’d grown at all. I thought I’d gone right back to where I started and achieved nothing. I certainly didn’t build my dream business. And that realisation hit hard — so hard that I spiralled into depression, questioning whether my life had any meaning at all.

But here’s the thing: I did grow.

It took me a while to see it, but I’ve evolved every single year without fail, and 2025 was no exception.

From a skills perspective, I learned project management techniques I’ve brought into my career. I put myself out there, dealt with clients, and had to be firm with them — something I’d always struggled with. I learned that self-employment wasn’t the golden ticket I’d been sold. I learned that I didn’t actually want it, because it meant being alone, and I didn’t want that.

I also learned something darker. With all that time alone in my head, I became more negative, more depressed. I questioned my spirituality, lost belief in it entirely. I entered what can only be described as the dark night of my soul — confused, isolated, trapped in my own thoughts.

Then I got back into a job. Suddenly, I didn’t have endless time to ruminate. The financial relief was immediate. I got back to the gym. I started feeling better about myself. And with that clarity, I began to reflect on my year and see the growth I’d actually achieved.

The Real Takeaway

So was 2025 a year of hell? Kind of.

Did I achieve what I set out to? Not really.

But I’m wiser now. I feel better about my decisions. And I’ve lost that nagging urge to be self-employed. I’m genuinely happy with a normal job, a normal wage, and an all-around normal life.

Sometimes the biggest growth comes from discovering what you don’t want. Sometimes coming full circle isn’t going backward — it’s coming home with new eyes.

2025 humbled me. But it also gave me my life back.

With love and wildfire,

Nayla
Founder of Nayla’s Lab – A Space for Women Rising