Here's what changes when you develop the capacity to be present. You create space in your mind between what you are observing with focus, and your reaction to it. When you're present, you see situations more clearly. You notice details you'd otherwise miss. You're not making decisions from stress or autopilot, you're responding from clarity. You have access to your full cognitive capacity instead of operating from a fragmented, overwhelmed state.

It is important to know that it is possible to have all the things that are important to you, that hold value and meaning on a deep level. The key is to really know what those things are, and to make choices that move you toward them.

We don't often connect meditation with career success. One feels internal, reflective, slow. The other feels external, strategic, fast-paced. But here's what I've learned to be true for myself and in working with people navigating burnout and transition: the quality of your awareness shapes the quality of your work.

In the context of considering a career change - from a promotion to a whole new experience - imposter syndrome can be paralysing. Sometimes, it has a friend: clinging to the familiar aspects of a current role, even though all signs point to a situation that is burning you out and no longer tenable. The fact of knowing a place, the people and the systems inside and out, backed by a familiar routine, brings a feeling of safety and seniority that can be really enticing to a troubled mind.