There are many reasons and combinations of reasons that people burnout. We are not here to all list the reasons why and how.

But we are here to discuss a deeper root cause is often overlooked. And we have brain science to back it up.

A Different Perspective on Burnout

Let me define what I mean by a different way of burning out. You know, the real reason that people do mostly burn out is this way that we’re thinking of a different way of burning out two thirds of founders of startups burn out. But the science shows it’s not.

Science shows it’s not about sleep, stress, or workload. Here’s what’s actually happening in your brain:

Your brain has a sophisticated warning system called the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). When you’re misaligned with your true path, it fires specific neural signals. But most people veering into burnout completely misinterpret these warnings.

You hear so much about, but what’s actually going on in your brain is this very sophisticated, I guess you could call it a warning system. Your ACC is sending signals when you’re misaligned with what we could call your truer path.

It fires specific neural signals that are now measurable and have been for some time.

If I just got some more sleep, maybe I just need a break completely. I need to, to fly to a warm island somewhere for a week or whatever. Maybe it’s a little more caffeine, and trying to ratchet ourselves up.

Burnout advice typically fails because studies do show again and again, the ACC isn’t just processing stress, it’s evaluating decisions and it is monitoring these internal conflicts between our actions and our values.

When we act against our core values, this region signals a warning.

That’s why more sleep won’t fix it. Better time management won’t solve it. The real issue runs deeper.

When we’re misaligned, the ACC creates tension.

This shows up as:

• Persistent exhaustion (despite adequate rest)

• Decreased motivation (despite success)

• Decision paralysis (despite clear options)

• Emotional detachment (despite achievements)

Realigning Your Work with Your Values

So the solution isn’t just about then working less, it’s realigning your work with your true path and really giving yourself a truth talk if you need to find a new direction.

I’ve coached for hundreds of hours with a variety of people looking for their purpose for one reason or another. From of all walks of life, and lots of them were in various forms of burnout.

You tend to fall into burnout when you stop listening to yourself for extended periods of time. And, similarly, those who begin to burnout-proof themselves begin a practice of listening to themselves first. This listening to themselves often translates into being able to listen to others better too.

The effect is assessing “what you are doing and who you are becoming while you do it” (to paraphrase from a David Whyte poem). And what you have done to this point may have been very successful, by the way. You may have accomplished a lot.

And it may be time to do some re-assessing of what you value. And after that, how important are these values that you’re going to commit to a closer alignment in how you live them out?

The Importance of Inner Work

For years now, we’ve been saying that it’s the inner work that creates the outer impact. And this continues to just show up again and again and again.

When you are more in line with what you should be doing, your decisions become easier and you have more clarity. Natural things will begin to grow in your life in the results that you’re getting because you’re no longer fighting against yourself or within yourself.

You’re leading from a grounded sense of clarity and alignment with who you are.

And your values may change too. It wasn’t just that you, you just made a mistake going to where maybe just now as you’ve grown and experienced more life your own values have shifted and you’re ready for something else. And you have to like do some work on yourself within yourself to figure out what those things are.

The Grand Takeaway

The solution isn’t necessarily working less. It’s much more about realigning your work with your true path. The most successful leaders aren’t the ones who push hardest. They’re the ones who listen deepest — to their teams, their market, and most importantly, to themselves.

When you align your leadership with your authentic self decisions become clearer, and through that your teams perform better, and your outer impact extends naturally.

So, lead yourself by slowing down for a second and listening. What’s going on in there?