No One Says ‘I Hope I Burn Out Someday’

No one starts a new job saying, “I hope this ends with me exhausted, bitter, and ignoring my health, relationships, and hobbies.” And yet… burnout is everywhere.

Burnout rarely shows up as one big moment. It sneaks in. A missed lunch here. A skipped workout there. A “just this once” weekend login that turns into a pattern. Mistaking your chronic neck and back pain for a lousy office chair and having no patience for anyone or anything. Before you know it, you’re exhausted, irritable, and wondering what happened.

Here are five common myths and the BIG plot twist people miss that keep smart, high-achieving people stuck in cycles of exhaustion and self-blame.

1. Burnout = Working Too Many Hours

The myth: I'd be fine if I had fewer meetings or a shorter workday.
The truth: Burnout is less about hours and more about how you work. You can work a 50-hour week on meaningful, values-aligned work and feel energized. But spend 35 hours being micromanaged, undervalued, or in constant reactivity, and your nervous system will light up like a pinball machine.

It’s not about time, it’s about the emotional toll.

2. Burnout Means You’re Weak

The myth: If I were just more resilient, more disciplined, or better at time management, I wouldn’t be feeling this way.
The truth: Burnout is not a sign that you’re broken. It’s a natural, biological response to chronic stress and unmet psychological needs. Thinking it’s a personal failing only adds shame to the pile, making it harder to recover.

3. It’s Just My Job/Boss/Company

The myth: If I had a different manager, role, or company, I wouldn’t be burnt out.
The truth: Yes, your environment matters. But burnout also comes from internal patterns: people-pleasing, perfectionism, tying your worth to output, never feeling "done." If those go unchecked, you’ll burn out in any job, even a great one.

4. A Vacation Will Fix Everything

The myth: I need a break, and I’ll bounce back.
The truth: Breaks are essential. But they don’t address the real problem if your workload, boundaries, or mindset stay the same. Rest without repair is temporary relief. You don’t just need a break from your life, you need a life you don’t need a break from.

5. Burnout Means You’re In the Wrong Career

The myth: Maybe this is a sign I’m doing something wrong.
The truth: Sometimes a pivot is needed. But more often, it’s not your career’s issue; it’s how you navigate it. Burnout is often a sign that something needs to change, not that everything needs to be burned down.

Here's the Twist Most People Miss:

We formed BIG beliefs about work, money, success, and stability when we were little, like really little. Many of us are still operating from mindsets we formed at age 7 when we first saw our parents or guardians stressed about bills or witnessed what losing a job did to someone in our home.

Maybe money was tight growing up, and now you carry a quiet but constant thought: “I can’t afford to lose this job.” That fear drives you to overwork, over-give, or stay silent when things don’t feel right.

Or maybe you grew up in a home where work was inconsistent, chaotic, or always a source of tension. Now you overcompensate by giving more of yourself than you have to avoid those old, familiar feelings of instability.

We think burnout is happening in the present, but unexamined beliefs from the past often fuel it.

Our small, almost unconscious decisions cause us to burn out and experience exhaustion. The sad truth is that we will continue to make those same decisions no matter where we go unless we examine and rewrite the narrative for ourselves.

Burnout is about being disconnected from yourself.

In our Burnout, Comparison, and the Cost of Chasing Someone Else’s Goals session, we go deeper than the usual “get more sleep” advice. We unpack:

• The hidden drivers of burnout, like overidentification with productivity

• How comparison rewires your brain to always feel behind

• How to set boundaries that actually stick

• And how to reconnect with your own definition of success

Burnout isn’t inevitable. But preventing it takes more than bubble baths and PTO. It takes intention, clarity, and the willingness to live and lead on your terms.

Here’s your opportunity to make a shift!

Check out this values sheet to determine your most significant, most important values. Don’t worry about what you think you “should” value; look at what speaks to YOU. When you discover what speaks to you, ask yourself, Am I able to express any of these values on a regular basis? If the answer is “no,” then there’s part of your answer to combating burnout.