Sustainable Success Nudge from Your Future Self:
💬 “You’re not running out of energy—you’re running out of joy.”

This week: Pay attention to where you’re pushing through on empty. High-achievers call it “momentum.” Your body calls it depletion.

Hi Melinda,

Most high-achievers I’ve worked with have normalized sputtering on fumes.
We call it dedication.
We call it passion.
We call it momentum.

But really—it’s a dangerous place to build from.

Because burnout doesn’t always look like collapse.
Sometimes it looks like “functioning fine”… just without joy.

As my friend Michelle Falzon says, “Burnout is losing the ability to do the thing you’re meant to do with joy.”

And that’s why I love her Create Without Burnout Cycle.

It’s not just about avoiding burnout—it’s about protecting your joy so your creativity and impact can thrive.

And that right there—protecting your joy—is what it’s all about.
After all, this is your calling you’re pursuing.
This is your life’s purpose you’re living. 
If there's anything to do with joy… this is it.

Her cycle has five phases:
Saturation → Percolation → Creation → Celebration → Rejuvenation

It’s a rhythm that mirrors the creative process itself.
And if you skip any part of it—you pay for it later.

You can read about each phase in more detail in Chapter 3 of Sustainable Success.

When I first learned this framework, I was already great at most of the cycle and had gotten really good at Celebration and Rejuvenation.
But what was missing for me was the Percolation phase.

Adding that one piece changed everything.

Percolation is the quiet, unseen time where ideas simmer, connect, and deepen. Where things assimilate in our subconscious.
I used to see that space as “wasted” time.
Now I see it as sacred.

Inserting it into my daily life and projects keeps me present and resourced. It lets me create from the overflow—and feel confident I’ll never even reach the sputtering-on-fumes experience again. 

It means I can be giving, doing, and producing… while also nourishing myself at the same time. It doesn’t have to be stop-and-go.

This cycle reminds us that rest isn’t a reward; it’s a requirement.
And that “rest” doesn’t have to be passive, it can also be active.  

Because rhythm—not relentless effort—is what sustains true success.

If you want to explore this more deeply, revisit Chapter 3 of Sustainable Success, where I unpack how honoring your own creative rhythm is one of the fastest ways to stay in flow and out of burnout.

With love (and full permission to percolate),
Melinda