With all of the advancements in emerging tech, it’s easy to overlook a major drawback of a decentralized world: burnout.

From founders to employees and everyone in between, being ground down is alive and well and shows no signs of slowing down. That is, unless people become more aware of the factors contributing to burnout and how they can be remedied with mental health awareness.

For Shira Lazar, founder of What’s Trending—a go-to source for pop culture and social media news—burnout was a significant contributor in her shift to becoming a beacon of wellness and positivity.

“On my journey running What's Trending, I've encountered numerous challenges,” Lazar said to me in a recent conversation. “The ever-changing landscape of digital media—from monetization to algorithm shifts—led to significant burnout. I realized how closely my identity and self-worth were tied to the business's success, influencing my emotional state.”

This realization propelled Lazar on a path of personal growth, focusing on emotional regulation, self-love, joy, and finding inner purpose—a journey she continues daily. 

“It's this personal passion that led me—alongside friend and co-founder Jordana Reim—to start Peace Inside Live,” Lazar said. “Our goal is to share the insights and tools—that have supported me—with a wider audience.”

Read more: Deanna Hood, a Roboticist and ETHGlobal Lisbon Finalist, Has a Message for Women Interested in Web3 

Peace Inside Live launched in 2020 as a virtual studio that evolved to incorporate wellness, and is now a custom solution for companies, teams, and communities around wellbeing. Its work includes collaborations with companies like Spotify and web3 brands, often centering around managing uncertainty and anxiety, especially in a post-COVID world where burnout is increasingly common.

“We engage with companies' internal teams and/or external communities, discussing well-being services with company leaders, employees, and consumers,” Lazar said. “We constantly evolve our approach based on attendee feedback and are committed to providing ongoing resources and open dialogue with our facilitators through virtual sessions or in-person events. Our mission is not just about boosting productivity; it's about enhancing mindset, leading to better decision-making and happier lives—which in turn drives profits—because a positive mental state enables individuals to excel both personally and professionally.”

The company has worked within Discord groups like Knights of Degen and DinoMonks to provide daily prompts, exercises, and mindfulness and meditation challenges.

“We worked with World of Women on a pop-up for their gala at Art Basel 2022 and have launched experiences in the metaverse,” Lazar said. “The focus being, how can we bring mindfulness and meditation into the metaverse, as well as to offline communities where connections are deepened.”

It’s the deepening of those connections that Peace Inside Live strives to achieve by bringing wellness to people in new, innovative, and more accessible ways—both on and offline.

“You can't debate the need for wellness in these 24/7 spaces where there are a lot of ups and downs,” Lazar said. “There are a lot of issues around mental health, especially when money is involved. We’ve seen it in start-up culture, the creator economy and now in web3 where people talk about wellness but are still trying to figure out how to exist in the space and sustain their energy—especially because it’s on all the time.”

Lazar believes social media spaces were not created with our wellness in mind, which provides a good example of what not to do when incorporating wellness into web3 and emerging tech.

“For these new emerging web3 companies and digital industries it’s about how do we integrate wellness into the foundation of the company itself,” Lazar said. "As more artificial intelligence (AI) companies pop up, how are they thinking about wellbeing? How are they thinking about ethics and equity?”

For Lazar, it’s both using the tech and making sure that communities understand the importance of wellness within the spaces that are being built—like with Peace Inside Live’s activation in Decentraland for MTV’s Mental Health Action Day.

“We have our Joy Of Missing Out (JOMO) Journal for exercises and journaling to help cultivate joy daily,” Lazar said. “It’s about bringing each of us back to practices that allow us to be present, grateful, and mindful, and really connect to our values systems. It’s not just about being more productive, it’s about being more clear-headed to make better decisions for ourselves. When we do that for ourselves and we’re feeling good ourselves, we show up better for others.”

Besides using wellness as a community solution, Peace Inside Live worked with Magic Eden to create an on-chain collection for mental health awareness month.

“We launched a collection called ‘The JOMO Effect,’ where 40 artists created images of what enjoyment meant to them,” Lazar said. “We donated all of the money to five mental health charities, and the experience served as an example of how to bring wellness on-chain through art and through giving back.”

Lazar said the experience also encouraged conversations with others in the community around mental health and wellness.

“The journey starts and ends with personal accountability and awareness, which are crucial for meaningful change,” Lazar said. “This all applies to consumers, who increasingly seek brands that resonate with their values and approach to life. I envision a future where companies are assessed not only by their financial metrics, but also by a 'Gross Corporate Happiness Index' or Sustainable Development Goals, like the measures used for countries. Brands that align with these values are the ones that will thrive.”