Subtle Signs You're Burned Out

When I tell people that burnout is the reason I left my dream career leading a huge team at a premier brand making content with A-list celebrities and athletes, many people don’t understand. How could I lose fuel for something I worked so hard to get to?

They probably imagine me under a pile of never ending work (that they would be happy to do) that got so heavy I refused to try to lift it anymore. While that would make for a good visual in my biopic, that wasn’t the case for me. My circumstance was much less overt. This is about the subtle signs you're burned out at work without you realizing it.

For me it was a death-by-a-thousand-paper-cuts assault on my purpose and values that finally broke me.

When I say purpose and values, know that I don’t mean morals per sé. They could be related, but oftentimes it’s much less… deep. 

Values are simply what you put the most value  - and therefore time/effort/energy - into. These are the principles that guide our decision making, and work values can be very different from personal values. While in your personal life you may value altruism, generosity and discipline at work you may put more emphasis on innovation, autonomy, or efficiency. 

Purpose is just what it sounds like: a reason for being. Your personal purpose combines that reason for being with how you are uniquely capable to make that happen. 

So back to me at work. One of my work values is what I call “spotlight equity” meaning I want to use my platform or spotlight to highlight people who probably wouldn’t get it unless I said something. Another of mine is risk-taking. Another authenticity. So, you can start to see how I began to lose interest when I was repeatedly mandated to use the platform to highlight people we know would work or brands that everybody already loves, and to promote projects I truly didn’t believe in.

It’s not that there was a big moral dilemma. I just woke up one day and realized that I no longer cared about the life I built. Not to say that I stopped loving music, or films or style. It’s that I’m no longer moved by pop music, I can’t believe summer blockbusters anymore and I care more about indie designers than “capital F” Fashion. The way I was asked to talk about these things didn’t reflect what I VALUED about it.

When it comes to purpose I’ve always known my reason for being is using storytelling to inspire and teach. Those opportunities were becoming few and far between as well. In fact, I had grown so accustomed to being told “no,” I started talking myself out of it. Something strange started to happen: I started buying into the company's values over my own and I started questioning my own judgement and fighting against my  best interests. 

That’s when I knew it was time for a change.

People on my team were bringing me ideas - good ideas - that aligned with my values, that were in step with my purpose and on track vision of the team that I laid out for them, and I was killing them before they had a chance.

 I didn’t realize it at the time but I was fueled by the cynicism and negative self-response that defines burnout.

If you think you may be suffering from a more subtle form of burnout or could use some help defining your own values and purpose, please reach out. I’d love to see how we can support.