We met Dr. Jenn Staples at Work the Room in our Arlington location, and it didn’t take long to realize: she gets it. As the co-founder of guts., a nonprofit making mental health tools more accessible and relatable, Jenn is all about helping people show up in their work lives—with clarity, purpose, and less burnout.
Spill Your Guts
Founded by a clinical psychologist and a design scientist, guts. blends science, creativity, and storytelling to reach people who might not otherwise seek support.
Through their skills-focused podcast (Spill Your Guts), downloadable infographics, community events, and workplace trainings, they deliver practical tools and relatable stories that offer a fresh perspective on mental health. While not a replacement for therapy, their resources offer a meaningful starting point — normalizing mental health conversations so mental health feels less like a luxury and more like a given.
So when we started planning Lunch & Learns for Mental Health Awareness Month, including Dr. Jenn Staples was a no-brainer.
In her session, Living Your Values: Navigating Burnout & Fostering Work-Life Blending, Jenn shared real, actionable ways to reconnect with what matters—and build a work-life rhythm that actually works. Not a rigid balance. A blend. One that reflects your energy, responsibilities, and values.
Whether you joined us live or not, we’ve pulled together the key takeaways below from Jenn herself, plus a few ways to connect with guts. and bring more intention to your everyday.
Living Your Values: Navigating Burnout & Fostering Work-Life Blending
At guts., we’re passionate about helping people build lives that feel fulfilling and aligned—not just at work or at home, but in both. We believe the goal isn’t to keep work and life in strict separation, but to blend them intentionally and mindfully.
Work-life blending is the intentional integration of your work and personal life in a way that honors your values, energy, and responsibilities—rather than keeping them in strict separation.
In a recent Lunch & Learn with Workbar, we explored how values-based living is a powerful tool for preventing burnout and fostering that blend. Below, we’re sharing the key insights from that session—along with simple, actionable steps to help you start living in closer alignment with what really matters to you.
Why Values Matter
Whether you're trying to reduce stress, feel more fulfilled, or simply bring more intention to your daily choices, values are a powerful starting point. Values are personal principles that give your life direction and meaning. Think of them as your internal compass.
When your actions consistently reflect what truly matters to you, you’re likely to feel more grounded, connected, and at peace. But when there’s a gap between your values and behavior, you may feel unfulfilled, stuck, or anxious. That misalignment can lead to burnout—not just from doing too much, but from doing too little of what really matters.
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Many of us struggle to clearly define our values because we’ve never been asked to. Or we’ve adopted values based on what society, family, or employers expect of us—things like success, appearance, or productivity. But these don’t always reflect who we are at our core.
To help clarify your values, we shared the Retirement Party Exercise, modified from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) psychologist Dr. Russ Harris.
Imagine you’re at your retirement, surrounded by friends, family and colleagues giving heartfelt speeches. What do you want them to say about you? What do you hope they remember you for?
It’s not easy—but it’s deeply revealing. These honest reflections become the foundation of value-based action.
If you’re unsure where to begin, a Values Inventory can guide you. (Download ours [here].)
From Values to Action
Values are broad and lifelong; they’re not boxes you check off. But to live them out, you need behaviorally specific goals and feasible, bite-size action steps.
Try this simple breakdown:
- Pick 1–2 values you're currently upholding. Celebrate these! Maybe it’s connection—you’ve been intentional about checking in with friends and family.
- Pick 1–2 values you’re not actively living—ones that feel especially important right now.
- Turn one value into 3 tangible, goal-oriented behaviors.
- Pick one goal and break it into 3 small, doable action steps.
- Choose one action step and start today.
For example, maybe you want to live more aligned with your leadership values. Leadership is a broad concept that can mean different things to different people - this is where translating your value into specific, actionable goals is so important.
- Goal 1: Attend a leadership conference.
- Goal 2: Take the lead on an upcoming project at work.
- Goal 3: Apply for a management position.
Let’s say you choose to work toward Goal 1. If you stop there, the goal might feel too big or vague, making it easy to delay or avoid—ultimately preventing you from living in alignment with your leadership value. That’s where breaking the goal into smaller, more feasible action steps becomes essential.
- Do a quick Google search for upcoming leadership conferences.
- Ask your coworkers if they know of any impactful conferences.
- Create a spreadsheet to track conference options, dates, and costs.
Let’s say you go with action step #2—asking your coworkers about leadership conferences. Now you have a concrete, manageable step you can take immediately. That small action creates momentum and a sense of alignment, proving that living your values doesn’t have to be overwhelming—it just has to be intentional.
Small Shifts, Big Impact
Small actions rooted in your values are how you build a life you don’t need to escape from.
When you take small, manageable steps in alignment with your values, you build momentum and self-trust. Over time, these shifts help you construct a life filled with more purpose, connection, and fulfillment—protecting you from the slow slide into burnout.
Signs You Might Be Disconnected from Your Values
Sometimes burnout and dissatisfaction are subtle. Here are a few signals that you might need a values check-in:
- Feeling indifferent or cynical about your job.
- Feeling exhausted even when you’re well rested.
- Persistent guilt (especially the kind that doesn’t seem to go away).
- Feeling stuck, like you’re spinning your wheels.
- General unhappiness, sense of emptiness, or regret.
- Avoidance, procrastination, or rumination.
Tuning into these signals and gently redirecting yourself toward your values can be incredibly grounding and restorative.
Getting Started
You don’t have to overhaul your life overnight. Just pick one value that’s calling to you right now, set three actionable goals aligned with it, and choose one small step to take this week.
You can download our Values Inventory and Worksheet to begin clarifying and living your values with more intention.
We believe that intentional living isn’t just good for your well-being—it’s essential to thriving in work and life, together.
Helpful Resources
Workshops: In addition to our free mental health resources and weekly podcast, we offer workplace trainings designed to equip teams with practical mental health tools that not only support well-being, but also enhance focus, performance, and collaboration.
Join our community and share: Our goal is to be as accessible as possible, which is why you can find us in many places! Visit our LinkTree to join whatever platform works best for you. Check out our website, listen to our podcast, and/or find us on social media and share with anyone who might benefit from mental health resources.
Download and Share Infographics: Our infographics are free to download and perfect for sharing with others—at home, in workplaces, or within your community.
Attend Community Events: Stay up-to-date on upcoming community events.
Support our Fundraising Campaign: We’re inviting our community to help us grow our mission with our very first fundraising campaign. Every dollar helps us bring practical, accessible mental health tools to more people.
