There is another complication. Workplaces often reward what is urgent and visible, not necessarily what is most natural or valuable. Someone may become known as the person who fixes detail-heavy problems because they are dependable under pressure, while their real strength lies in judgement, communication or seeing patterns early. Over time, other people's expectations can blur your own understanding of where you add the most value.

In practice, this does not always look like obvious burnout. It can look like re-reading the same email three times before replying. It can look like agreeing to a meeting you did not need, simply because saying no felt too effortful. It can look like putting off a people issue until it becomes more complex, or jumping quickly to a decision just to remove it from your list.