337: Four Success Traps That Lead to Burnout (with Hannah Tackett)
Sep 18, 2024
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Hannah Tackett, a former software design manager turned burnout coach, shares her journey from corporate burnout to helping others avoid the same fate. She discusses the success traps that lead to burnout, emphasizing the critical signs to watch for. Hannah highlights the importance of self-discovery and authenticity in career choices. Listeners learn about her 'Peace Pathway'—a five-step process to combat perfectionism. She also provides practical strategies for maintaining balance and offers a burnout score tool to help identify personal risks.
Burnout progresses through stages like stealthy stress and emotional erosion, highlighting the need for early recognition of its signs.
Success traps like people-pleasing and perfectionism hinder high achievers, emphasizing the importance of self-care and boundary-setting for balance.
Deep dives
Understanding Burnout and Its Stages
Burnout is a gradual buildup of stress rather than a sudden collapse, progressing through distinct stages. The first stage, stealthy stress, manifests as irritability, anxiety, and sleep disturbances, indicating emerging problems. If left unaddressed, it can evolve into emotional erosion, marked by feelings of cynicism and dread, especially the pervasive Sunday scaries many experience. Ultimately, this can lead to performance paralysis, where individuals find it difficult to function, demonstrating the importance of recognizing early signs of burnout before they escalate.
Success Traps Contributing to Burnout
Several success traps contribute to burnout, primarily affecting high achievers, particularly women. People-pleasing, while often rooted in good intentions, can lead to neglecting personal needs and overwhelming stress from trying to keep everyone happy. Similarly, perfectionism can create unrealistic expectations, making it difficult to delegate and exacerbating stress levels. Being overly busy creates a culture of hustle, where individuals fail to take breaks or celebrate accomplishments, ultimately leading to exhaustion and burnout.
Strategies to Combat Burnout
One effective strategy to counter burnout is to engage in the 'Peace Pathway,' which focuses on authenticity and self-care. This includes pursuing clarity about personal values, prioritizing self-care practices like adequate sleep and healthy eating, and learning to assert boundaries by saying no. Additionally, color-coding calendars can help individuals distinguish between energy-draining and energy-giving activities, promoting awareness regarding their wellbeing. Filling the calendar with joy-inducing activities not only enhances productivity but also aids in building a more balanced life, allowing for sustained success without burnout.
My guest this week is Hannah Tackett, software design manager turned burnout coach, and we are talking about the success traps that lead to burnout. Hannah describes her personal journey with burnout, what burnout actually IS (and isn’t), and the signs you are on your way to burnout.
Having navigated her own career-halting burnout, she helps high-achieving women end the cycle of people-pleasing & perfectionism so they can experience success with energy, focus, and serenity.
I found the success traps that lead to burnout fascinating – and completely understandable. But Hannah doesn’t leave us hanging – she gives tips for heading off burnout and returning to balance.
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