Look: is it stress or growth?

What if the thing that's exhausting you is actually the life you once begged the universe for?

What if your tiredness isn't evidence of failure, but proof that you're living a life that asks something of you?

In this solo episode, Miles Adcox shares a message that unexpectedly resonated with millions. But before unpacking why this landed so deeply, he tells a story that changed his entire perspective on gratitude, loss, and what we choose to focus on.

Miles opens up about the tension between being tired and being grateful, between feeling overwhelmed by the life you built and remembering you once dreamed about having it. He reveals why so much of the advice we hear about rest and unplugging can feel idealistic when you're in the thick of raising kids, leading teams, or building something from nothing. This isn't about glorifying burnout or romanticizing exhaustion. It's about learning to hold two truths at once: you can be stretched and still be exactly where you're supposed to be.

Miles goes deep into the concept of reframing, explaining how shifting the way we interpret our experience changes how our brain and body hold it. He shares the psychological principle that "gratitude without honesty is denial, but honesty without gratitude is despair."

This conversation will help you see that not everything stretching you is breaking you; sometimes it's growing you.

In this conversation, you'll learn:

• How to distinguish between exhaustion that drains you and exhaustion that sustains you
• How a brown dead spot in a yard became a prized possession and shifted everything
• How to reframe "I have to" into "I get to" without denying the weight you're carrying
• How psychological reframing changes the way your brain and body hold stress
• How to hold both tiredness and gratitude without falling into denial or despair
• How to recognize if your overwhelm is evidence of purpose, not failure
• How the life you dreamed about still asks something of you (and why that's not a problem)
• How to notice whether you're the victim of your momentum or the author of it
• How to find dignity in your fatigue by asking one simple question
• How to practice honesty and gratitude at the same time without choosing just one

Welcome to Human School, where we learn what matters most. - Miles Adcox

Follow Human School: 

YouTube - Human School Podcast 

Instagram - @humanschoolofficial 

Threads - @humanschoolofficial 

TikTok - @humanschoolofficial

What We Discuss:

00:00:00:00 Intro - Welcome to Human School 

00:00:30 Miles's Introduction 

00:01:35 The story of Dakota

00:09:00 How subtle perspective shifts get our attention 

00:11:04 Why advice to "slow down" can feel idealistic 

00:13:27 The psychology of reframing: how shifting interpretation changes everything

00:14:35 The art is learning to hold both