FIELD NOTES // 019 - The Truth About Burnout

They call it burnout like it’s something that just happens —

like a flame that ran out of fuel.

But that’s not how it feels.

It’s not fire dying.

It’s you disappearing.

⸻

You don’t lose energy.

You lose direction.

You keep moving, but none of it leads anywhere.

Every rep, every hour, every task —

it all starts to feel the same.

Loud days. Quiet nights.

And nothing inside you left to answer why.

⸻

They’ll tell you to rest.

To take time off.

To find balance.

But rest doesn’t fix emptiness.

Sleep doesn’t fill a hollow purpose.

⸻

Burnout doesn’t come from doing too much.

It comes from doing what doesn’t matter —

for too long.

⸻

The truth is, you can grind yourself into dust

and still never move the needle

if you’ve forgotten what the work is for.

And that’s the real weight.

The silence that sets in

when the noise stops feeling like progress.

⸻

You don’t need a break.

You need to remember.

Why you started.

Why it mattered.

Why it still should.

Because once you do —

the fire comes back.

And this time,

it burns cleaner.