Burnt Out By My Own Brand. The Truth About Social Media

Today’s episode is a little different.

I’m not here to teach… I’m here to tell the truth.
The story of how I went from loving social media to feeling completely disconnected from myself and how Human Design gave me the clarity and permission to come home to who I’ve always been.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re forcing it online…
If you’ve ever followed all the “right” strategies and still felt off…
This episode is for you.

🌱 THE BEGINNING:

I got Facebook in college.
It was simple.. just a way to stay in touch with friends.
No pressure. No strategy. Just connection.

And I loved it.

It felt like a space where I could show up fully… unfiltered, unpolished, unbranded.

🧱 THEN I STARTED A BUSINESS...

Like many of you, when I started my business, everything changed.
Suddenly, social media became a job.

I was told to:
• Show up every day
• Share value
• Be consistent
• Build a brand

And I did all of it.
I followed the formulas. I mimicked the strategies.
I performed.

And I didn’t even realize I was slowly drifting away from myself in the process.

🖤 THE BREAKING POINT

Then I lost my dad.

And when that happened, everything… just slowed down.
My business. My energy. My capacity.

It felt like life had stripped everything that wasn’t real, or necessary, or me.

And I looked around at what I had built and realized I didn’t recognize it anymore.

I had built a brand based on pressure, performance, and what other people told me I should do.

🌕 THE PIVOT: FINDING HUMAN DESIGN

I got quiet.
I shut out the world.

And in that stillness… I found Human Design.

For the first time, I felt like I had a language for how I was actually wired to show up.
How I’m meant to work, share, create, connect.

As a 3/5 Manifesting Generator with a Line 1 Vibe of Tribe… I saw why I was burning out.
Why I was repelling the very people I wanted to help.
Why nothing ever quite clicked even when I was “doing it right.”

🔥 THE RETURN TO MYSELF

Human Design gave me permission to come back to myself.
And when I started creating content again from alignment everything shifted.

My energy changed.
My audience started connecting.
My message started resonating.

And most importantly… it felt like mine again.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re showing up in ways that don’t feel like you…
If your content feels like a performance, or a pressure, or a prison…
I want you to know you’re not broken.
You’re just out of alignment with how you’re designed to show up.

And there’s a way back.

If you want to know how you are uniquely wired to show up in your business…
I’ve created a free Human Design chart + 5-part audio series that breaks it down for you in simple, tangible ways.

You can grab it below or in the show notes.

stefcarlstredt.com/hdreport .

💫 CLOSING

Thanks for listening to this one it’s a piece of my heart.
If it resonated with you, share it with a friend or just let me know I always love hearing from you.

You don’t have to keep building a business that doesn’t feel like you.
You just need to find your way back to who you’ve always been.