Stop Applying Band-Aids to Burnout: The Human Skills You Actually Need
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
You are successful on paper. You have the title, the team, and the track record. Yet, if you are being completely honest, you feel like you’re holding on by a thread some days.
When you’re exhausted, the generic advice is always the same: "work smarter not harder," "ask for support," or "focus on the positive aspects of your life."
In my recent conversation with burnout expert Cait Donovan, we discussed the absolute necessity of getting to the root cause of our exhaustion. Burnout is not a scheduling error; it’s a profound disconnection from your own needs.
Human Skills > Soft Skills
We hear a lot about boundaries when it comes to our investment in our careers. People think learning to say "no" is the answer to their burnout. But knowing how to set and maintain boundaries is just one muscle to build.
What you need is to flex your suite of Human Skills.
Human skills requires deep introspection. They ask you to look at why you cannot set a boundary without feeling intense guilt. During our conversation, Cait highlighted a concept called interoception, which is our ability to listen to our body's signals. Many of us, due to past experiences, learned to be hypervigilant about other people's needs while completely ignoring our own. We have to heal the core wound that makes us overextend ourselves in the first place.
Silencing "Did I Do Enough Dave"
When you’re burned out, your Inner Critic is usually running the show. I call mine "Did I Do Enough Dave." He loves to tell me to measure my life by what I was able to check off of my to-do list on any given day. He likes to say ‘it’s always better to do as much as you can’.
Notice that absolute word: "always." When your inner critic uses words like "always" or "never," it’s telling you a lie.
You are not your inner critic. That voice is separate from your true essence. You can acknowledge Dave, thank him for trying to keep you safe from failure, and then set him aside so you can lead with clarity. The true risk is not failure, the risk is living by a measuring stick you don’t actually believe in.
Dismantling the Status Quo
You do not have to choose between a thriving career and a peaceful life. It’s not an "OR" situation; it is an "AND". You can be incredibly successful and completely free.
The process of transformation takes real work, and as Cait noted, burnout is not a DIY situation. Start by identifying your true needs today. Make the unconscious, conscious.
To learn more about Cait Donovan and her incredible resources for burnout recovery, visit her website at https://www.caitdonovan.com/.
