I am that overachiever. I went to an elite public high school in NYC. I graduated college with a 4.0 during the recession and hustled between internships and part-time work until a company finally gave me the break I needed. And then it happened.I landed a gig at a start-up with all the perks: unlimited vacation time, excellent benefits, company shares, cold brew coffee on tap, standing desks and the option to work remotely.I was making more money than I ever had before. This was as close as I’d come to “making it.” Then came the catch.The Slack messages just as I was crawling into bed. The 3:00 am e-mails. Waking up to calendar alerts for a slew of meetings I didn’t know I had. The constantly pivoting company “goals” and conversations about where I fit into them. The brutal layoffs of people who were smart and seemingly productive.The realization that my “unlimited” vacation time was tethered to me either working on my vacations or working so many hours before and after that truly “unplugging” was virtually impossible.Prior to me taking this job I had pursued a passion project and become certified as a holistic health coach. So I knew all the things about self-care, balance, stress management. All of it. Yet I lied to myself for months about what my secular work was doing to me. I remained hypnotized by something elusive—the idea that it would get better or I would get “stronger” or I would be satisfied by “proving myself” in the start-up culture. In short, I told myself a lot of lies including
1. I’ll only work like this until…
The thing about taking a boost to your paycheck is the sudden rush of buying power. My husband and I made all the purchases: home office furniture, a new bedroom set and several overseas vacations. It felt great at the moment. It felt even better when credit card bills rolled in and we could pay them off in full without a second thought. 
