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NICHOLAS BOOTHMAN
lighter. More open. More willing to say “yes” to life’s
possibilities. Now, every invitation, every new request,
felt like another weight added to the already crushing
load.
She found herself saying “no” more and more. Not
because she didn’t want to, but because she simply
didn’t have the bandwidth. No to dinner with friends.
No to that interesting new project. No to anything
that required even a sliver of extra energy.
Her world was shrinking. Her horizons narrowing.
All because of this relentless, suffocating stress.
She looked at her reflection again. The woman
staring back was tired. Defeated. And a little bit
scared.
This couldn’t continue. Something had to change.
This wasn’t about finding some mythical work-life
balance. That felt like chasing a unicorn in a hurricane.
This was about survival. About reclaiming her life,
one small step at a time.
The red alert was blaring. And for the first time in a
long time, Billie wasn’t going to ignore it. She was
going to fight back.
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