Ep 102: Movement as a Path Through Burnout - Finding Your Way Back to Yourself, with Dr. Sue Daniels and Dr. Michelle Quirk

What happens when a career you once loved starts to feel like something you need to escape from?

In this episode, I'm joined by my colleague in medicine, Dr. Susan Daniels, a pediatrician in Bozeman, Montana, and founding president of the Montana Mindfulness Project. Dr. Daniels and I originally connected around the topic of movement as a pathway through burnout, and our conversation took us from her identity as an “awkward runner” to a much deeper discussion about burnout, joy, mindfulness, and what it means to make space for yourself again.

Dr. Daniels shares her journey of experiencing burnout during the pandemic, despite having built a medical practice she genuinely loved. She talks honestly about reaching a point where she felt she had given too much of her time and energy to work and couldn't imagine another way forward.

We talk about what changed when she began to recognize burnout for what it was, and how she started intentionally crafting a life that made room for things that brought her joy and nourishment. For Dr. Daniels, that meant getting back into the water, spending time outside, and learning that movement doesn't have to be intense or structured to be meaningful.

If you've ever felt like your career, your responsibilities, or a demanding season of life has slowly pushed everything else to the margins, this conversation is a reminder that making room for movement, fun, connection, and the things that make you feel like yourself isn't selfish, but may actually be essential.

In this episode, we talk about:

Dr. Sue's experience of being an “awkward runner”

Why you don't have to look like a stereotypical runner to be a runner

How burnout showed up during the pandemic

Making space for movement, nature, hobbies, and joy during recovery from burnout

Why slow movement and time outdoors can be restorative

The connection between swimming, running, and mindfulness