You’re not doing too much, you’re just not recharging anymore
The other side of the energy equation
They’re both overwhelmed and empowered when they find me.
The coaching clients who come to me struggling with low energy.
Overwhelmed because they’re drained and have no idea how to fix it. And empowered because they’ve realized they need help, and have decided to ask for it.
That moment, when someone reaches out and hires a coach, is the most important in the entire process. Not because that’s when the coaching starts, but because it’s the first moment they truly show up. And it’s why coaching works at all.
Often, it’s the first time their usual approach (work harder, push through) stops working and actually makes things worse.
Being no stranger to pressure, responsibility or intensity, they’ve always held it together.
Until now.
The energy equation
When we start getting into it, the go-to assumption is: I must be doing too much.
“Let me cut a few meetings. Skip the gym this week. I’ll cancel that weekend with friends.”
It might be true, but it’s not the real problem. There’s another side to the “energy equation” that’s rarely acknowledged.
The not recharging part.
Energy doesn’t just run out from expending it. It also runs low when we stop doing what fuels us.
But over time, almost imperceptibly, things have changed for them. They’ve lost sight of the part of the work that once filled them up.
Sometimes it’s because the job shifted. They’re solving fewer interesting problems and sitting in more meetings. Other times, they’ve changed themselves and are looking to grow or change paths.
In any case, the spark is gone.
The tank is leaking. And nothing is filling it back up.
What got your here won’t get you there
From the outside, it looks like they’re still managing.
Delivering at work, being present enough at home, not dropping the ball. Yet.
But underneath, something else is going on. They’re carrying a constant stream of self-judgment.
“I should be able to handle this.”
“I should know how to ‘fix’ this.”
“What’s wrong with me?”
They’ve always solved problems by working harder. But now, that strength is working against them.
They push even harder, just to keep the inner chaos from showing on the outside. Which only deepens the depletion.
At some point, they realize: this can’t go on.
That’s when I meet them, and it’s often just in time.
The warning phase
Burnout doesn’t just show up out of nowhere.
Much like in conditions such as diabetes (type II), there’s a build-up. A warning phase doctors call “pre-diabetes.” You don’t have it yet, but if nothing changes, it’s only a matter of time.
It’s the same with energy: this is pre-burnout.
There are many signals, but they’re easily avoided (especially when you’ve trained yourself to override them).
You brush off the fatigue. Explain away the slip-ups. Power through the lack of focus. No one around you is complaining so it’s probably fine. Just this next project, this quarter, this weekend.
But of course, it doesn’t stop.
Until it does.
Finding your fuel
So this is what we work on in coaching. We go deep and look at what you’ve been avoiding.
Taking an honest look at where you are, and where you actually want to go.
It’s not about setting goals, making commitments, or fixing your routines. It’s about slowing down and feeling into what truly fires you up.
Finding the fuel again. So you can finally fill the tank.