Running on Empty, A Wake-Up Call We Keep Ignoring

The idea of commenting on a topic that keeps popping up in the media, one that we should really have a better handle on as individuals, makes you wonder, how do we keep ending up in these situations? And I include myself in that bracket.

Have you ever felt like you’re running on fumes, pushing forward but with no real sense of progress? Do you notice when your team starts losing motivation or when that spark of creativity fades? How often do we tell ourselves that exhaustion is just part of the job, something to push through rather than a sign to pause and reassess?

This isn’t about recovering from burnout, it’s about recognising the signs early and avoiding it altogether. Burnout isn’t just personal, it affects teams, businesses, and entire industries. We all know the statistics, the articles, the research, and yet, time and time again, we ignore the warning signs until it’s too late.

The Journey Up, and the Crash on Arrival

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about burnout, not just as an abstract concept, but as something real that I’ve experienced firsthand. Many of us push ourselves relentlessly on the way up, eager to prove our worth, impress the right people, and go the extra mile. Leaders recognise potential, and opportunities open up, but without the right conditions in place, we arrive at the top already depleted.

I’ve seen talented people lose their spark, teams become less effective, and businesses suffer simply because no one spotted the early warning signs. We push, we climb, we sacrifice, only to realise that by the time we “make it,” we may not have much more to give.

David Whyte, one of my favourite thinkers, dives into this in Constellations 2, and Maria Popova unpacks his reflections beautifully in The Marginalian. Whyte sees burnout as more than exhaustion, it’s a hollowing out, a loss of connection to what once gave us energy. The Financial Times covered the corporate side of things last year, questioning whether businesses are really doing enough to stop this downward spiral before it spreads like wildfire (FT article). And Harvard Business Review recently explored how companies often focus on individual resilience rather than addressing the systemic causes of burnout (HBR article).

What If We Looked at This Differently?

We all say prevention is better than cure, but do we really act on that? Do we recognise the early warning signs of burnout in ourselves before we hit the wall? More importantly, do we see it in the people we work with and lead?

As leaders, colleagues, and friends, what if we approached this not with judgement, but with curiosity? Instead of seeing someone struggling and assuming they’ll “push through,” what if we asked better questions? What’s going on behind the scenes? Have they lost sight of why their work matters?

A Reminder I Needed Too

The truth is, I needed this reminder myself. I’ve spent years working hard, pushing through, convincing myself that resilience meant just keeping going. But that’s not resilience, that’s denial. Burnout doesn’t just drain energy, it drains meaning. And if we’re not careful, we wake up one day wondering where the joy and purpose went.

So, this isn’t about being the smartest person in the room. It’s about being aware, of ourselves and of those around us. Let’s get curious now, because the alternative isn’t worth it.