Burnout or Breakthrough?

How do you know when it’s time to rest or to rise? 

Let’s talk about something most high performers rarely pause to examine. 

That hazy, tangled space between burnout and breakthrough, where your energy’s off, your clarity’s foggy, and your instinct says: “I can’t keep going like this.”

Sound familiar? If you're a business owner, leader, or go-to person in everyone’s life, chances are you’ve stood at this edge before. 

We hit goals, meet deadlines, and show up fully, even when we’re running on fumes. But at some point, the grind catches up. We find ourselves in that murky space between burnout and breakthrough, unsure which one we’re actually facing.

Both burnout and breakthrough feel intense. Both shake your sense of direction.

But only one is calling you forward.

Here’s how to tell the difference:

Burnout says:

• “I’m exhausted down to my bones.”

• “I can’t bring myself to care.”

• “Even rest doesn’t feel restorative.”

Breakthrough says:

• “I know I’m meant for something more.”

• “This discomfort feels like stretching, not collapsing.”

• “I’m unsettled, but also more awake than I’ve been in a while.”

You can’t force a breakthrough when what you really need is rest… and you can’t numb your way through burnout and expect magic to find you.

So pause, breathe, and ask yourself:

• Is my exhaustion rooted in overextension or under-fulfillment?

• Am I out of energy or out of alignment?

Burnout often shows up as chronic fatigue, irritability, brain fog, or even physical pain. 

Breakthrough often arrives as restlessness, inspiration, or a heightened awareness that something must shift.

As someone who’s led people through the depths of the Grand Canyon, I’ve seen what clarity can come from hitting your edge in nature, in leadership, in life. The canyon doesn’t care about your title, your to-do list, or how productive you’ve been. It strips away the noise and asks: What’s real? What’s sustainable? What’s true for you?

Sometimes you need to retreat to solid ground. Other times, it’s time to step into the next stretch of the trail.

If you’re in burnout, give yourself full permission to stop. To recalibrate. To set boundaries and recover. Not as a luxury, but as a leadership necessity. 

If you’re standing at the edge of a breakthrough, lean in. Trust the discomfort. Take one clear, aligned step forward. Often, your next level isn’t waiting for you to hustle harder; it’s waiting for you to listen deeper.

The space between burnout and breakthrough is a threshold. And like every trail in the canyon, how you walk it changes everything, so take a breath, find your footing, and move forward boldly. 

My son was Captain of the USC men’s water polo team for 2-years. In June, I shared a post of how he uses the technique of box breathing. This tool helped with burnout. Click here to watch the short reel. Use this tool yourself.

THE WAY OUT IS FORWARD™️

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xo,

Sara