You Don’t Have to Earn Your Worth: Ruth Hirshberg on Burnout, Boundaries, and Believing You’re Enough
So many women in midlife are quietly carrying an exhausting belief: that their worth is something they have to earn—through productivity, perfection, and putting everyone else first.
In this episode of Message in the Middle, Marianne is joined by registered social worker, meditation and breathwork teacher, and founder of The Self-Worth Solution, Ruth Hirshberg, for a deeply honest conversation about burnout, boundaries, and the hidden beliefs keeping so many high-achieving women stuck.
Ruth shares why boundaries don’t work when you don’t believe you’re allowed to have them, how survival mode becomes a “normal” way of living, and why trying to fix behaviors without addressing the beliefs underneath rarely leads to lasting change. Together, they explore what it really takes to separate your worth from your productivity—and why you don’t need to become a different person to finally feel enough.
Key Takeaways:
- Why so many women intellectually know they’re worthy, but don’t feel it
- How early beliefs around “not enoughness” quietly shape our adult lives
- The difference between treating symptoms and addressing root causes
- Why boundaries collapse without a foundation of self-worth
- How productivity became a stand-in for worth, and how to untangle it
- The role breathwork and nervous system regulation play in healing
- Why you don’t need fixing, you need permission to stop proving yourself
If you’re tired of chasing validation, running on empty, or feeling like you’re always falling short, this conversation offers permission to stop performing your worth and start owning it.
Check out the Mini Meditation Marianne posted before the holidays: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1938384/episodes/18207054
Connect with Ruth:
- Face Book https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579052467890
- Website: https://www.groundingwithruth.com
- Instagram: @groundingwithruth
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-hirshberg
Connect with Marianne:
- Website: Message In The Middle with Marianne
- Message In the Middle Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/422430469323847/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MessageInTheMiddle/playlists
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-demello-smith-678b9966
- Email: Contact | Message In The Middle with Marianne
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