Today I want to tackle the important topic of burnout. What it is, what it isn't, how to prevent it,

and how to get past it if you find yourself in a state of burnout. So first of all, what is

burnout? Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by

prolonged or excessive stress. It's not just fatigue. It's not just being

tired. It's an actual syndrome that can significantly impact your personal and your work

life. Symptoms include feeling emotionally drained, feeling detached from work, and feeling

a reduced sense of personal accomplishment. So to me, what separates burnout from merely being tired is there's this sense of personal accomplishment. So to me, what separates burnout from merely being tired is there's

this sense of underlying hopelessness and maybe helplessness with burnout when you're in a really

challenging period and you've been there for some time, and there's still no light at the end of the

tunnel. I think we can all toughen up for a period of time,

but how long is sustainable is maybe the root of the issue? And when the advice is, well,

if you're going through hell, keep going, when does it make sense to ask, well, wait a minute,

I think I missed my exit, or maybe it's time for a U-turn or a different strategy. And at the same time, you also know that without

struggle, there's no progress, right? That's Frederick Douglass from 150 plus years ago. There was

an essay, there was a blog post back in the good old days of blogging from Corbett Barr, where he wrote

that everybody wants the big muscles, but nobody wants to lift the heavy weights. You can't

expect the result without putting in the work, but how much is too much? There is, or there was

for a certain period of time, this glamorizing of startup or hustle culture, rise and grind,

death before decaf, I can sleep when I'm dead. And I think we've moved beyond that,

recognizing that's neither healthy nor sustainable. In this episode, I want to share some

strategies that have worked for me and side hustle show guests over the years, both in terms

of your day job and your side hustle in preventing and overcoming burnout, should it happen

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