TL;DR:

High-performance cultures often normalize burnout as a sign of ambition. But exhaustion isn’t a credential, it’s a crisis. You need to learn to recognize, recover from, and prevent burnout without sacrificing your professional edge if you want to continue driving growth.

When did did fatigue become fashionable? But it is… right?

“How’s it going?”

“I’m exhausted! So many meetings!”

“Oh, god, I know. Me too.”

“See you at morning huddle!🥰”

Too many industries (tech, finance, medicine, entrepreneurship) are celebrating overworking and framing it as a flex. We glorify 80-hour workweeks, celebrate late-night Slack responses, and quietly compete over how few hours of sleep we can survive on. The cost?

Burnout, chronic illness, relational breakdowns, and a hollowed-out sense of self.

A few things here before I get blacklisted by Alex Hormozi and his followers.

• Look at the time stamp. I’m writing this article after 10pm. I’m not opposed to long hours and would be happy to talk with you about what that looks like for me. 
• If you’ve checked out Caret Care, you’ll know we acknowledge, even celebrate, the reality that Work-Life integration is ubiquitous. WFH has flipped the script on what we expect work to look like.  
• If you love crushing 80 hour work weeks and it energizes you… I love that for you. But know your body, your rhythm, your breaking point and know when to full pause before you crash. And most importantly, that’s not for everyone.

Look, this post isn’t a takedown of ambition. It’s a reminder to stop mistaking collapse for commitment. Ask yourself, who’s brand are you building by giving 100%?

Let’s stop normalizing burnout and put your personal mental health back on the road map.

When High Performance Becomes High Risk

Recognize the signs. Burnout is not just being tired. It’s a full-body revolt against sustained stress. You’ll recognize it by:

• Emotional exhaustion
• Cynicism or detachment from your work
• A reduced sense of personal accomplishment
• Reduced pleasure and/or desire for the things that you used to love.

This isn’t a personal failing. It’s often the predictable outcome of environments that reward output at the expense of wellbeing.

How’s your workplace feel? 

High-achievers are particularly vulnerable. You likely hold a high value for productivity and external validation (money, followers, responsibility). Add in perfectionism, a desire to prove oneself, and a toxic work culture, and it’s a recipe for breakdown disguised as devotion.

The Hidden Signals of Burnout

Burnout may not scream at you as expected. Often, it’s a sleepy whisper. It sneaks up on you:

• You stop caring about things that used to matter.
• You feel foggy, forgetful, or chronically unmotivated.
• You find yourself more irritable, withdrawn, or emotionally numb.
• Even rest doesn’t feel restful.

If you’re mentally drafting emails in the shower, skipping meals, and calling it “just a busy season,” check again. That season might have become your entire life. Are you okay with that?

How to Recover Without Quitting Everything

You don’t have to blow up your career to reclaim your energy. But you will need to intervene with honesty and strategy.

Here’s how:

Redraw the Boundaries
High-performance doesn’t require hyper-availability. Start by:

• Setting tech-free hours
• Creating hard stops to your workday
• Saying no without guilt (especially to performative busyness)
• Audit the Energy Leaks. Not all tasks drain equally.
  Identify:
  • What gives vs. what takes energy?
  • What are you’re doing out of fear or obligation?
  • What meetings, admin, or digital noise can be streamlined or delegated?

Rebuild Your Nervous System
Burnout lives in the body. Prioritize:

• Sleep (non-negotiable)
• Nature, movement, and sunlight
• Breathwork, somatic practices, or trauma-informed therapy

This isn’t fluff. Think of it as neurological hygiene.

Reconnect to Meaning
Often, burnout is as much about disconnection as it is about demand.
Ask yourself:

• What originally drew me to this work?
• What impact do I want to have?
• What kind of life do I want to return to when the laptop closes?

Purpose without pressure is possible. But you may need to loosen your grip on perfection to access it. You may even need to revisit your definition for quality of life. What’s most important to you?

Letting Go of the Hustle Hangover

You are not your productivity. Your worth didn’t arrive with your title.

There is a version of you who works hard and still sleeps, who performs well and still takes vacations, who leads teams and still eats lunch away from the screen.

That person isn’t weak. They’re well. Don’t you think that should be the new benchmark? 

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Reach out. Let’s talk.