On Why Taking a Vacation Won't Save You From Burnout

I thought a break would heal me. Instead, it broke me open...

I just came back from vacation, but I felt empty.

The noise of my 21st birthday party was fading into a mosquito-pitched whining. My mother's face was blurred as paramedics rushed me to the ER. I was convinced I was dying.

But even as they wheeled me into the ambulance, my first thought wasn't about my life. It was about the business meeting I'd miss the next day.

Six months earlier, drunk on business podcasts, I'd dropped out of university. "That's what successful people do," I told my weeping mother. I was going to prove myself by outworking everyone: my competition, my business partner, myself.

It worked, until it didn't.

The Success Trap That Nearly Killed Me

That ER visit was my first of three major burnouts over the next decade. Each time, I thought the solution was simple: work smarter, not harder. Take breaks. Practice self-care.

I was wrong.

Here's what I wish someone had told me:

Burnout isn't just about working too many hours. It's also about working from a place of emotional emptiness.

You're spiritually depleted from:

• Smiling through meetings when you're terrified inside

• Saying yes to every opportunity because saying no feels like giving up

• Suppressing your doubt because "successful entrepreneurs don't quit"

• Measuring your worth by your income

Sound familiar?

The Invisible Weight of Unmet Needs

Every entrepreneur carries invisible weights: the need for validation, the fear of disappointing others, and the belief that your worth equals your output. At first, adrenaline helps you carry them. Then caffeine. Then willpower.

But eventually, your body says: "Enough!"

It's not a character flaw. It's a biological response to emotional depletion.

The root cause? A belief system we learned as children: that love, safety, and belonging must be earned through achievement. In entrepreneurship, this becomes: "I matter because my business is successful."

Why Rest Isn't Enough

I've seen countless entrepreneurs take vacations, only to return more anxious than before. Why? Because rest doesn't address the core issue:

You're running a business from an empty emotional tank.

The real healing happens when you stop outsourcing your self-worth to external validation and start meeting your actual human needs.

Here's how:

1. Get brutally honest about what you actually need.

Not what you think successful entrepreneurs should need, but what you, the human behind the business, actually needs. Safety? Connection? Creative expression? Recognition? Write it down. These aren't weaknesses. They're requirements for sustainable performance.

2. Build boundaries that protect your humanity.

This doesn't mean working less (necessarily). It means working differently. Stop checking emails after 9 PM, not because your favorite productivity gurus say so, but because your nervous system needs predictable recovery time. Say no to opportunities that excite your ego but drain your soul.

3. Question the stories behind your hustle.

Ask yourself: What am I really trying to prove? Whose approval am I seeking? What am I afraid will happen if I slow down? Often, we're running from childhood wounds, not toward genuine goals.

The Path Forward

You, your family, and your business depend on your health. The most successful entrepreneurs I know aren't the ones who can endure the most pain. They are the ones who build from strength.

Rest isn't earned. Worth isn't conditional. And asking for help isn't a weakness. It's wisdom.

The breakthrough you’re chasing lies in your honesty about what you actually need.

That night in the ER, I thought I was dying. In a way, I was. The part of me that believed suffering was the price of success.

What about you? What emotional need have you ignored in the service of your business? Hit reply and tell me. I read every response.