Freudenberger (who first coined the term burnout): “[it is] almost always an indication that the person’s goals have been externally imposed. Somehow [they] embarked on his present course because it was expected of [them]… [they were] never the authentic source of [their own] choices and consequently they afford little real satisfaction”

Maslach describes the “burnout prone individual” as one who mostly yield to the other without adapting to their own capacity: “is often unable to exert control over a situation and will passively yield to its demands rather than actively limiting them to his capacity to give… faced with self-doubt this person tries to establish a sense of self-worth by winning the approval and acceptance of other people”

From In Over Our Heads

Related: pain is not the unit of effort