Pop Quiz

If you answered yes to at least 2 of these questions, there may be a common denominator here that's not the job... and until this is addressed, the burnout might follow you to every job.

Q1 - Have you felt this way in every job?

If you reflect back on your career life, maybe even going back to your academic life, and it feels like almost every big endeavor you’ve taken on has burnt you out, this suggests that the feelings of overwhelm might not be specific to your current job but could be a recurring pattern. It's easy to assume it's the nature of the industry, the business, or the clientele, but if “Everywhere you go there you are,” there may be a deeper problem here.

Q2 - Do you work harder when someone says, “good job!”?

If it feels like external validation is your hit of dopamine, and you find yourself working harder, even when you’re already maxed out, this behavior suggests a tendency to overwork, which leads to, "I cant keep going on like this!"  Wearing your quick follow-up like a badge of honor, is quickly leading to resentment. If you’re not constantly receiving that approval, you start to question your worth. And when you do receive it, you just want more! Without it, you never feel good enough.

Q3 - When you’re off, do you think about work the whole time?

Even when you try to be present with people you love, does it feel like a guilt-driven voice takes over and fills you with thoughts like, “You're going to fall behind!” or “You're going to miss something!” or “Who else is going to do it?!”? If so, constantly thinking about work during your downtime shows us theres an emotional attachment, and this can affect your personal life. Even if you sign off at 6pm, if you're just sitting there problem-solving in your mind, you're not off. And we know if we can't fully recharge, that will impact our performance, the opposite of what we want!

Q4 - Do you skip the gym, lose sleep, and find that your personal life is starting to suffer?

If you used to prioritize your health and now it feels like that has fallen off, with skipping meals, going hours without eating then overindulging and feeling guilty for that, all the nights you promise you’ll go to the gym you end up just working later, and you’re sitting in bed at 9 pm still looking at work emails... even waking up at 3 am thinking about them, this neglect of self-care activities can negatively impact your overall well-being, which will impact success. We don't want that!

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I know it's easy to assume it's the nature of the industry, the business, or the clientele, but if everywhere you go, "there you are...”

There's a common denominator here...

Now, I realize this may be hard to hear, but this is actually really good news!

The first step in building workplace emotional resilience for high performers is taking radical responsibility. If you’ve been the YES girl or the Nice guy who puts work above your own health, relationships and wellbeing…This isn’t something that magically disappears somewhere new (or is fixed by taking a break).

If you truly want balance alongside your success, If you want your health, happiness and confidence back, If you want to perform at a high level AND be present for the moments that matter most in life, that starts with you.