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Sometimes it seems everything's under control until you realize you're just running on the habit of being strong.
We've mastered hiding our exhaustion. From others, from colleagues, from family, and most dangerously, from ourselves.
Everything looks fine on the surface: projects thriving, ideas flowing, life buzzing. But somewhere inside, silence and scorched emptiness.
We've just learned to wear masks brilliantly.
1. Frantic Exhaustion
When you're running not toward a goal, but away from yourself.
Suddenly someone becomes a whirlwind of ideas and enthusiasm. Proposing dozens of projects, gathering supporters, promising the impossible, and quickly burning out.
They genuinely want to climb out of their inner pit, but they're spinning their wheels: the fuel tank's empty.
Sometimes these people even get promoted.
"Look how energetic they are!" management says.
But look closer: are they jumping from idea to idea? Abandoning what they started?
If yes, you're watching someone trying to outrun their exhaustion with activity.
2. Aggressive Exhaustion
"Leave me alone!" A soul's cry disguised as rudeness.
A usually calm person suddenly becomes irritable. "I am annoyed by everything." "I am feeling frustrated all the time." Reacts sharply, argues, takes offense.
This is how they protect themselves from anything that might expose their weakness.
Sometimes the cause is personal: debts, illness, sleepless nights.
But when aggression becomes the background noise, it's exhaustion, not character.
Their nervous system is simply screaming: "Stop."
3. Tired Exhaustion
When nothing hurts, but nothing brings joy either.
The quietest state.
Someone is simply tired. No drama, no breakdowns. They sleep, work, sleep again. Everything done on autopilot.
Sometimes it resembles mild depression, but really the organism just sees no point in moving.
Resources at zero, yet the pause keeps getting postponed "for later."
4. Denying Exhaustion
"It won't work" isn't always about experience. Sometimes it's about burnout.
This person answers every idea with "no." "I am feeling frustrated with all these proposals."
"We already tried that. It won't work."
"Our competitors failed with this."
"I am annoyed by people who keep suggesting things."
If this sounds constant, you're facing a "no-person."
They're not skeptical, they're just too tired to believe.
The danger? These are often experienced specialists. Their word carries weight, their denial slows the entire company.
Easy to distinguish: if someone doesn't explain why something won't work but just gets irritated, that's not analysis, that's depletion.
How to Remove the Mask
A mask can be removed. It's not your skin.
If you recognized yourself, don't be afraid.
Burnout isn't a sentence, and certainly not "humanity's future cancer" as people love to dramatize. It's simply a signal: you've been on autopilot too long.
You can stop.
Breathe.
Rest.
And one day wake up thinking:
"How good it feels without the mask. How beautiful the sky is. How warm the wind."
And Now, What Matters Most
Our retreats exist for exactly this.
To finally slow down, exhale, stop being a "function" and remember you're a living human being.
To simply exist without rushing, without tasks, without the eternal "must," among people, silence, and meaning.
And yes, we do all sorts of useful practices there: breathe, talk, stay silent, write, walk, paint, meditate.
Because that's precisely what exhausted people actually need.
