Choosing a Year of Balance, Not Burnout

Stephen
Jan 5
4 min read

When Motivation Isn’t the Problem

I’ve been thinking a lot about balance recently. I was out walking with a friend at the end of the year when he asked me what my word for 2026 was going to be. Without hesitation, I said balance.

When I took a moment to sit with why that word came so quickly, it became clear. In the latter part of the year, I’d lost my balance. Stress had crept in as I allowed my inner perfectionist to dictate how I approached my wider work. Not with clients, but with the expectations I placed on myself around everything else.

I’ve already written about some of that context in previous articles, so I won’t revisit it here. What feels more important now is what I do with that awareness, and how it shapes the changes I’m choosing to make as I step into 2026.

When commitment quietly turns into pressure

As I’ve sat with that word, I’ve noticed how familiar this pattern is for me. When things feel meaningful and important, I tend to lean in hard. I take on responsibility, raise the bar, and start measuring myself against an internal standard that’s always just out of reach.

From the outside, it might look like stoic commitment and determination. From the inside, it feels like a never-ending pressure to succeed.

Nothing was 'wrong' as such. Work was going well and opportunities were coming my way. Yet my body was telling a different story. Sleep became disjointed. Switching off took more effort. Even in moments of rest, there was a sense of being slightly braced, as if something still needed my attention.

That’s the point where it’s no longer about mindset or motivation. It’s about balance. More accurately, it’s about what my nervous system has been holding onto, and what it really needs if I’m going to move into this next chapter with more steadiness and self-care.

Why balance is a nervous system issue, not a mindset one

Once I started looking at things through that lens, the focus shifted. It stopped being about working more effectively and became about staying regulated while doing work that genuinely matters to me.

This is something I see again and again in my work with men. Capable, committed men who aren’t lacking insight or drive, but who are living with a nervous system that never quite gets to stand down. They’re not broken. They’re tired - and often, they’ve been carrying more than they realise for longer than they’d admit.

Balance, in this sense, isn’t about doing less. It’s about building enough recovery into life to meet the demands we place on ourselves.

The role of the 31 Day Fundraising Challenge

That’s where the 31 Day Fundraising Challenge for Stand Tall Empower CIC has found its place.

Outdoor setting used for a 31-day fundraising challenge focused on balance, nervous system regulation, and men’s mental wellbeing.

This isn’t a test of willpower or discipline. It’s a deliberate counterbalance to my usual tendencies. A way of embedding sustainable habits by building rhythm and regulation into each day, rather than relying on adrenaline and good intentions.

Each element of the challenge has been chosen with that intention in mind:

Cold water, not to prove resilience, but because it brings me back into my body quickly and honestly. It requires calm breathing, presence, and gentleness rather than grit and determination.

Gratitude, practised in those moments, helps shift my system out of constant threat-monitoring and towards noticing the small glimmers of support that are already there.

Qi Gong then offers a way of carrying that regulation forward. Gently moving energy through the body rather than storing it as tension.

This isn’t about optimisation. It’s about staying connected to myself while I keep showing up.

Why this matters for men’s mental health

This approach sits at the heart of the wider work of Stand Tall Empower CIC.

The aim has never been to fix men or push them towards a better version of themselves. It’s to create spaces where balance can be felt, not just talked about. Spaces where being in nature, moving the body, breathing, sharing experiences, and spending time with other men allows something to soften and reset.

The fundraising attached to this challenge will help establish that work more fully. It will allow us to offer those experiences to men who might otherwise keep pushing through alone. Not because they don’t want support, but because life has taught them to put themselves last.

Choosing balance without stepping back

For me, choosing balance this year isn’t about stepping away from meaningful work. It’s about learning how to stay present within it. Building something in a way that doesn’t cost my nervous system more than it can afford to give.

Perhaps that’s the deeper thread running through all of this.

Balance isn’t something you arrive at once life settles down. It’s something you practise daily, especially when life feels full or fraught.

If this resonates, I’d invite you to reflect on what balance might look like in your own life this year. Not as an ideal, but as a lived experience.