My Martial Arts Master *Accidentally* Taught me about Burnout
I'm 35, living in Texas, and I recently walked back into a Tae Kwon Do dojang for the first time in 20 years.
No, I didn't have a midlife crisis. I had adulting. Turns out they feel similar.
I practiced for 10 years as a kid. My mom, my dad, my brother and I, three times a week, all working toward our black belts together. We got there. Then we moved cities.
Coming back wasn't nostalgia. Yoga has been my anchor since I was 18 but somewhere along the way I started needing something more explosive. Something that punches back. Tae Kwon Do made sense.
So there I am, 35, back in a white uniform, deeply humbled by teenagers in red belts.
Last week Master Jo pulled me aside mid-practice.
"Mayte. Relax your body before the kick. If you go at 100% all the time, the impact is low. Relax, punch, relax, kick, flow."
He was talking about my form but it felt like he was also describing my entire relationship with work.
The thing about martial arts is that the power doesn't come from constant tension. It comes from the contrast. The release before the strike. The stillness that makes the movement mean something.
Going at 100% all the time isn't strength. It's just noise with good intentions.
I've been thinking about burnout a lot lately. And I keep coming back to Master Jo's four words:
Relax. Punch. Relax. Flow.
Lessons are everywhere. We just have to slow down enough to actually see them.