The real antidote to burnout? Embracing the Impact Player mindset

We often think people burn out because they have too much work.

Too many tasks. Too much pressure.

But research and experience show something different.

We don’t burn out because we do too much.

We burn out because we feel we don’t matter enough.

When your work lands, when it creates value, when people see the difference you make, it fuels you. When it doesn’t, it drains you. You’re tired not because you’re overloaded, but because you’re under-utilized.

The bridge from burnout to impact isn’t effort. It’s ownership.

Burnout grows when we feel powerless, when we just execute plans instead of shaping them.

Energy leaks when meaning disappears.

And an Impact Player mindset can make the difference, as Liz Wiseman describes.

In sport, in every team, there are people who don’t just do their job. They do the job that’s needed. They step into the messy, the unclear, the urgent. They move toward problems instead of away from them.

They don’t work harder; they work with purpose. Impact players find energy where others lose it. They restore power by shifting mindset: from obligation to ownership.

They ask, “What’s really needed here?” instead of “What’s my job?”

That question reconnects them to purpose, visibility, and contribution.

Because once you feel you can influence what happens, even a little, exhaustion turns into engagement. Simply because your work starts to matter again.

Maybe the cure to burnout isn’t rest. Maybe it’s meaning.

P.S. I’m aware there are many reasons behind burnout, and each story is different.

This post isn’t a diagnosis. It’s a reflection, inspired by research and by what I’ve observed in my own journey.