The Silent Killer Of Motivation And What To Do About It

3 "Good" Habits That Secretly Lead to Burnout, Fatigue, and Exhaustion

What if the path to burnout isn't paved with failure, but with success?

It's a strange paradox. You work hard to become competent and reliable. You become the person everyone trusts to solve hard problems. You're essential. By all external measures, you are succeeding. Yet, you find yourself ending your days feeling completely drained, exhausted, and with a nagging sense of emptiness.

When I was a Principal Engineer at Amazon, my calendar was a wall of meetings where I was "strictly needed." And I was. I spent my days giving guidance, acting as a consultant for other teams, and helping people do their work. This was a core part of my job description, and people were always very appreciative. By the end of the day, I had no energy left to be productive on the things I actually cared about. This happened day after day after day.

This is the "Curse of Competence": when your reward for being good at your job is a calendar so full of helping others that you have no time left for your own grow…