Burnout, Honesty, And Rest

Burnout doesn’t usually explode into your life—it fades the lights, one day at a time. I open up about working hard in a stagnant role, feeling the weight of unfairness, and realizing how quietly energy can drain when progress stalls. From there, we map out a practical path to protect your well-being: have the hard conversation at work, take a conscious break, and refocus on the one thing that truly matters. If your battery is at one percent, the solution isn’t to push harder—it’s to plug in with intention.

We talk through the early signs of burnout—waking up tired, joy turning into heaviness, goals blurring at the edges—and how to respond before the crash. You’ll hear a clear script for speaking up with your manager, plus a reframe on rest as a strategic investment rather than avoidance. We dig into the difference between lazy pauses and purposeful recovery, and how pruning your commitments creates space for energy to return. The heartbeat of this conversation is alignment: choosing work and habits that refill you instead of hollowing you out.

There’s also a frank look at guilt, the stealth companion of any break. Guilt tells you to sprint while your spirit asks for air. We replace that voice with compassion and a seasonal mindset—some days are for growth, others are for healing, both are part of a resilient career. Whether your next step is finding a role that fits, doubling down on a creative project, or tending to family stability, the principle stays the same: pick with intention and protect your energy. If this resonates, subscribe, share it with someone who needs a reset, and tell me: what’s the one thing you’ll say yes to this week?

Chapters

• 0:00 Setting The Stage And Focus
• 0:34 Naming Burnout And Today’s Goal
• 1:22 Job Stagnation And Frustration
• 3:37 Energy Drains And Unfairness
• 4:18 Speak Up And Ask For A Break
• 5:20 Breaks As Burnout Prevention
• 6:04 Low Energy And Family Strain
• 6:46 Do What Matters Most
• 9:03 Burnout’s Early Signals
• 10:24 Courageous Honesty At Work
• 11:29 Rest With Intention
• 12:38 Focus, Purpose, And Personal Paths
• 13:50 Release Guilt And Choose Compassion
• 15:04 Seasons, Recovery, And Hope
• 16:31 Listener Invitation And Closing

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

These past weeks have been uh really intense. By the time you hear this, guys, I will likely be in a different state of mind. As you know, I like to to schedule my podcast about a month in advance, okay? So who knows what will have happened by the time you hear this. I guess you're gonna find out next month. But let's get back to the primary focus and avoid maybe getting too philosophical about technology, okay. Hi everyone, my name is Fabio from Journey2 Success and Work. Today we're going to talk about burnout again. I know this is not the first time we have discussed it, but this time I would like to share how to avoid burnout, recognize its signs based on my own experiences, of course, in these weeks, and explain why feeling guilty is not a solution in uh cases like that. But before we go forward, so before going forward, as always, please subscribe, alright? So I know this is the right direction to lead you guys, to drive you, to guide you towards your journey to success. And let's get started, alright? As always. So, as you know, I haven't yet achieved my financial freedom, so I'm still working for someone else. However, my days at this job have been challenging. Not because the work itself is difficult. I mean, I've been in this role for over three years. No, I can excel at it. But the real issue is lack of progress in my professional development, which has been uh lethargic, stagnant, you know, for more than three years now. While generally I don't mind, I mean, I don't mind this overall, because my focus is primarily on my podcast, you know, my podcast, my Substack project, my my journey to achieve financial freedom. But still, of course, there is uh a sense of frustration. I feel a sense of frustration, okay, because when you perform well in your job, I don't see any financial or career advancement for more than three years, you get frustrated. Okay. And I recognize that growing within this company is not my true purpose, of course. But in terms of energy from what I should get from my job, from my work, that's not good either. And I also dislike unfair situations in uh in any situation, but in this case, also when we talk about working in a company, you know, a sentiment many people share, of course, this feeling of unfairness has been draining my energy more and more. And it is crucial to work in an environment where your energy can be directed toward your goal. You know, it's very crucial, it's very important. Whatever whether those goals align with achievement, financial freedom like mine, or involving progressing within the company, it doesn't matter. It's very important to direct your energy towards your goals, and when this doesn't happen, it's a problem. Okay. The truth is that different triggers can either boost or drain our energy. For example, a promotion or a compliment can uh uplift our spirits, you know, in the job, while a lack of progress or unfair treatment can have the opposite effect, okay. And when you find yourself in an unfair situation, whether it's the stagnation in your job, like in my case, or if your boss or colleagues treat you uh badly, this case, an example, your your energy can decrease, okay? At this point, you know, the moment that you notice that your energy decreases more and more, it is just wise to speak with your manager, with your team leaders. You might say, I don't like this situation. I don't like this situation, it's affecting my work, my interactions with clients, my family, and my well-being. This is not what I sign up for. That's precisely what I did. That's precisely what I did, and if you are in situations like mine, that's precisely what you have to do. Taking a break to avoid burnout, guys. Okay. So I recently took that step, and my team leaders understood my situation because you know the issue originated in in my company is more at a higher level, beyond their control. So they understand that. But regardless of the motivation, it is essential to recharge because, guys, if your energy drops completely, right, it becomes tough to recover. And that's where burnout comes from. Okay. You can listen to my previous episodes actually, where I talk about how to recognize burnout, so you have a better view. This video, this I say video, I meant audio, sorry. This uh this audio is more this episode is more about how to how to avoid the burnout. Okay, and so my advice is to take a break before things become too overwhelming. So another question is what am I doing to recover myself? What am I doing exactly? A lot of things are draining my energy more and more these days, even if I took this break from my job. And uh, I'm talking about family issues, family issues my fiance and I had to address promptly. And I'm still in a low energy situation, honestly. Um, I'm learning from it, so I'm sure I'll be able to share more insight in a month with you. If it happens, we can uh talk about again. But for now, what I can tell you, my advice, right? That um I want to offer you the the advice I'm giving myself as well. So, what I can tell you is do what matters most. That's it. Focusing on what matters most is a magical way to move forward because it helps you gain energy, guys. So it's important to clarify what you want to do in a way to be enabled, you know, to avoid procrastination. So that's very important. And when you prioritize what matters most, it's like a tree changing with the seasons, you know, it's a natural rhythm that aligns with a force that moves as it should, becomes natural. When you do what matters most, you just move naturally towards your goal, you know, like the moon and the sun to make a light and to make a dark is the same. And this also applies to every human being, guys. So once you decide to take a break, consider what matters most for you to move forward. It might be looking for a job, stay focused on your podcast like I am, or moving forward with your family issues in a way that will help you regain energy later, for example. You can uh you can also recognize that everything is too much right now, and that the only thing you can do is to relax on the couch. That's totally fine, it's totally okay. As long as this break is a conscious choice in the quest for something important, of course, because if the break itself becomes a form of procrastination, that's not good either, okay? So you have to be careful about how you use these golden times during this low energy period and during your break, you ask from uh from your job or from your your environment. So before wrapping up, right? What did we learn today? So let's go a little bit more deep. Let's go deeper about this uh situation. If there is one thing these past weeks have taught me, guys, again, it is that burnout is not some explosion of stress, right? It is the slow down motion of your spirit. So it begins with small signs. Maybe you wake up already tired, maybe the thing that used to give you satisfaction feels heavy now. Maybe you stop recognizing that the excitements you once had in your job or in whatever environment. These signs are not a weakness, first of all. They are your inner voice trying to protect you. They are saying, please pay attention. Okay. And then comes the moment of honesty. You look around you and think, okay, you know what, this environment is not supporting me. For me, for example, it was the feeling of being stuck in the same role for over three years. I was doing well. I was giving my best, but nothing was moving. And uh if you are giving a lot and receiving nothing in return, how long can you keep putting energy into a place that does not refill you? Of course, guys, sooner or later you reach a point where silence hurts more than speaking up, okay? That is when you must find the courage to communicate, even if your voice shakes, even if you are afraid of how people will react. Being honest, being honest with yourself, being honest with your manager, and expressing your frustrations and need to change is an important act of self-respect. So that's what you have to do. And there is no reason to feel guilty about it. We are discussing our life here, your life, a precious life, and no one and nothing should have control over it. Okay, not even a job that pays your taxes when uh negatively impacts your energy and mental well-being. Okay, that's very, very important than anything else. And after that conversation, by the way, after the conversation that I have the conversation that you are gonna have. Well, the most important things, the most powerful step that you have to do is rest. Rest in a way to gain energy, not the lazy kind of rest where you avoid life, okay? But a conscious break with intention. A pause, a break that says, I care about my future enough to protect my energy, okay? That's kind of that's a kind of meaning that I want to hear inside yourself, your inner voice. That's what you have to hear from it, okay. Think of it like this, okay? When a battery is running uh on 1%, all right, you do not keep using it until it's shut down because it takes more time, you know, to you know, to take the charger and uh you know charge the bacteria again that the phone is closed, so it has to open. What you do instead you plug it in, so you give it time to recharge again. Okay, humans need the same thing, guys. We need the same thing. We need space to breathe, to reflect, to feel. Because when we forget to rest, the burnout becomes deeper and the recovery becomes longer. Okay, but even in the middle of low energy, there is something that can help you keep going, and that is focusing on what matters most. When you strip away, you know, all distractions and all expectations. What do we have? What remains? What is that one thing that aligns with your purpose and keeps your heart beating with meaning? For me, for example, can be creating content that inspires you, working on my podcast, working on my substack, growing something that will one day give me the freedom I dream about. But what about you? For you, it might be something completely different. Maybe it is taking care of your mental health, maybe it is taking care of your family, maybe it is learning new skills, maybe it is rebuilding stability in your home, you know. The answer is unique to you, it's unique to anyone. What matters most is that you choose it with intention, not out of guilt or pressure, okay? And guilt. Guilt is something we need to talk about here before to to close this episode. Because when we take a break, guys, guilt likes to show up. It whispers things like you should be doing more, you know. Things like you are falling behind and everyone else is moving ahead. You know, guilt can be powerful, but guilt does not help you move forward. Guilt only increases the weight you already feel on your shoulders. So you don't need to feel guilt because the situation for you is already heavy, and you need to move forward with intention of your purpose and rest. What you deserve, you deserve compassion. You deserve to rest without apologizing for it. You deserve to take care of yourself the same way you care about your goals, okay. Life has seasons, guys. Sometimes we grow fast, sometimes we slow down, sometimes we shy, sometimes we retreat into the shade to heal. But every season has a purpose, okay? Every season carries us to the next burnout, it's not the end of your journey, guys. It's simply a moment asking you to realign with what truly matters, okay? So if you are listening to this episode and you feel tired, you feel frustrated or overwhelmed, I want you to remember this. You are not alone. You're not alone. What you're feeling does not make you weak, it makes you human. So give yourself permission to pose, you know, protect your energy, focus on what makes you feel alive again. Because success is not about running, you know, endlessly. It is about knowing when to push and knowing when to recover. Grow without rest is not grow, okay? It is destruction. So take this moment to breathe, take this moment to choose what matters most, take this moment to trust that you will rise again one day, okay? Because you will, because that's what we do, guys. We will. Because we are strong. And uh because we are beautiful human beings. Now, I want to hear from you. How do you protect your energy when life feels heavy? What is the one thing that helps you reconnect with yourself when burnout tries to take over, guys? Send me a message, share your story, or connect with me on Substack. I truly would like to know, I truly want to know. Your journey matters, guys, and your voice might inspire someone else who is listening right now. So if you enjoyed today's episode, make sure you subscribe so you never miss an update. And if you know someone who might be close to burnout or struggling to keep their energy alive, please share this episode with them. Sometimes one reminder at the right moment can change everything, okay? Thank you so much for being here with me on Journey to Success. Remember, we're not just chasing success, guys. We're learning, we're learning to protect the energy that fits it. One choice at a time, one season at a time. I will see you in the next episode, guys. Cheers!