How Burnout Can Be a Good Thing

Summary

WSJ Your Money Briefing

Episode Summary: How Burnout Can Be a Good Thing

Date: April 16, 2019
Host: JR Whalen (Wall Street Journal)
Guest: Steve McClatchy (Author of "Decide: Work Smarter, Reduce Your Stress, and Lead by Example")

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Overview

This episode of Your Money Briefing explores an unexpected perspective on workplace burnout: its potential as a catalyst for positive life change. Host JR Whalen is joined by author Steve McClatchy, who argues that while burnout is often an unpleasant and draining state, it also possesses powerful benefits—if we recognize and use it purposefully. The conversation unpacks how burnout can drive personal reflection, motivation, creativity, and courage to take risks that lead to meaningful improvements in both career and personal life.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Redefining Burnout

• Burnout as a Catalyst:
  Steve McClatchy reframes burnout not just as a negative consequence of overwork, but as a possible launching pad for reassessment and growth.
  • "It took me a while to connect that burnout does have benefits. I mean, it’s certainly not a place anybody wants to be ... but when you look at the things that it inspires us to do, I think there’s some benefits to having that feeling." — Steve McClatchy [03:09]

2. Creativity and Bucket Lists

• Inspiration for Change:
  Burnout can spark a desire for something better, encouraging people to brainstorm new possibilities, set bold goals, and even create “bucket lists.”
  • "How many bucket lists have been created because of the feeling of burnout? We start to brainstorm everything that’s possible in our life that’s better than the situation we’re currently in." — Steve McClatchy [03:30]

3. Honest Introspection

• Taking Personal Inventory:
  Intense burnout forces honest self-reflection—people reevaluate what’s working, what’s not, their strengths, weaknesses, skills, and preferences.
  • "If you’ve ever talked to somebody who’s burned out, they really are honest with themselves because they’re trying to assess how to make things better. And we have to know our starting point if we’re going to do that." — Steve McClatchy [04:04]

4. Motivation for Action

• Moving from Stagnation to Progress:
  The discomfort of burnout can be a powerful motivator, galvanizing people to take on challenges and personal development projects they had previously postponed.
  • "If you look at what burnout has inspired people to do … people have gone and gotten MBAs and PhDs, they’ve written books, they’ve run marathons ... That motivation often comes from the feeling of burnout." — Steve McClatchy [04:48]

5. Building Courage and Risk-Taking

• Burnout Inspires Bravery:
  Facing burnout can embolden individuals to overcome fear of failure and embrace necessary risks for change.
  • "Sometimes we don’t take that risk. Yet the feeling of burnout, when it’s really there, we say to ourselves, things can’t get worse. It’s worth the risk; it’s worth being vulnerable. And all of a sudden, we get courage to act." — Steve McClatchy [05:52]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Burnout & Creativity:
  "We start to dream, we start to ask questions. We start to consider the possibilities of what improvement’s gonna look like and the direction we’re gonna take our lives." — Steve McClatchy [03:30]

• On Introspection:
  "You get honest with yourself when you’re burned out ... you look at your strengths, your weaknesses, all your skills and abilities, your likes and your dislikes." — Steve McClatchy [04:04]

• On Motivation:
  "Now there’s a gap between where we are and where we want to be, and we start to get motivated to close that gap." — Steve McClatchy [04:48]

• On Courage:
  "Without the feeling of burnout, we might not have that courage. Again, I don’t think it’s a great feeling, but if you have it, use it." — Steve McClatchy [05:52]

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• [02:39] Burnout—A Universal Experience: Introduction to the topic and McClatchy’s perspective.
• [03:30] The Creativity Spark: How burnout often precedes creative thinking and aspiration.
• [04:04] Honest Self-Assessment: The necessity of introspection to understand what needs to change.
• [04:48] Motivation and Taking Action: Burnout as the fuel to make delayed life improvements.
• [05:52] Burnout Breeds Courage: Overcoming complacency, facing fears, and embracing risk.

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Conclusion

While burnout is typically seen as a sign that something is wrong, this episode encourages listeners to look for the opportunities hidden within. By recognizing the positive catalysts it can spark—creativity, energy for change, self-awareness, and courage—individuals can transform an otherwise negative experience into a springboard for personal and professional development.

For more insights on managing career and personal finance, listen to the full episode of Your Money Briefing by the Wall Street Journal.

Transcript

[A]

This episode is brought to you by Charles Schwab. Decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day. Washington Wise from Charles Schwab is an original podcast that unpacks the stories making news in Washington. [e-mail] Washingtonwise. With youh Money Briefing. I'm Tanya Bustos in the newsroom at the Wall Street Journal, and if you're hard at work making money, you're sure to get burnt out sooner or later. But but here's the thing that's actually good news. We're learning how burnout can be a good thing. But first, here are some money headlines the dollar shuffled between gains and losses ahead of economic data from the US and Europe, due out later this week. The US dollar index, which measures the US currency against a basket of 16 others, was recently unchanged at 90.06. Softer market data would likely justify the Federal Reserve's cautious shift on interest rates and pressure the dollar, which tends to become less attractive to yield seeking investors when rates seem unlikely to rise. Meanwhile, investors will keep an eye on Thursday's release of European manufacturing data to determine whether growth in the region is continuing to slow. Fred's is set to evaluate its strategic alternatives and close some stores Discount retailer Fred's Inc. Has hired investment bank PJ Solomon to evaluate strategic alternatives. The the Journal writes how the retailer has also hired SB360 Capital Partners, a liquidation firm, to close 149 stores. Read More about the broader discount retail industry and the latest strategic retail [e-mail] or the WSJ app. Neiman Marcus is poised to become the latest US Business to push lenders into supporting refinancing, a trend that has raised concerns about delaying a reckoning on unsustainable debt loads. Employment in the coming weeks, the company is on track to replace around $4 billion of debt. In a presentation to lenders, Neiman Marcus said its debt exchange would give it more time to increase its annual adjusted earnings by around 50% to at least $700 million in the next five years. And the company said it expects to start seeing meaningful improvement in fiscal 2020. Coming up can working too hard and getting burned out be a good thing? Maybe we'll explain after this. Burnout, especially from working too much, can deprive us of all kinds of things, but it can also do things to help us better focus on ourselves and find success. Author Steve McClatchy joins the Wall Street Journal's J.R. whalen with more Go ahead,

[B]

admit it, you're a workaholic. But whether we admit it, or not working too much, coupled with everything else going on in our lives, catches up to us when we get burned out. But does that have to be a bad thing? Author Steve McClatchy says no, and he's with us on the line and points out we can actually benefit from burnout. So, Steve, from my experience, burnout feels like I've been run over by a steamroller, but it can actually create time to focus and take a step back and figure out what got us to this moment.

[C]

Yeah, it took me a while to connect that burnout does have benefits. I mean, it's certainly not a place anybody wants to be. And if you've ever been there, you know, it's a really big. But when you look at the things that it inspires us to do, I think there's some benefits to having that feeling.

[B]

You mentioned the fact that people you talk to, they actually. It inspired them to create bucket lists.

[C]

Yeah, it's one of the benefits of being burned out. We start to get real creative. I mean, how many bucket lists have been created because of the feeling of burnout? We start to brainstorm everything that's possible in our life that's better than the situation we're currently in. We start to dream, we start to ask questions. We start to consider the possibilities of what improvement's gonna look like and the direction we're gonna take our lives.

[B]

And introspection seems to be a big byproduct, a positive byproduct of all this and taking some personal inventory of what's working in our lives and what's not.

[C]

Yeah, I mean, now you get real. You get honest with yourself when you're burned out. I mean, once you've considered all the possibilities, okay, so maybe you can't become a professional soccer player, but what can you become? So you look at your strengths, your weaknesses, you. All your skills and abilities, your likes and your dislikes. I mean, if you've ever talked to somebody who's burned out, they really are honest with themselves because they're trying to assess how to make things better. And we have to know our starting point if we're going to do that.

[B]

And it can also inject some motivation into our lives. I mean, I guess the burnout feels like you've hit a wall. But you say that people can actually turn a corner and do things in their lives and be motivated to do things in their lives they've been putting off that could actually help enrich their lives.

[C]

And again, if you don't do anything about burnout it's certainly a bad feeling. It can become a rut. It can become depression. It can turn into a midlife crisis. But when we act on burnout, it now motivates us. I mean, now we've dreamed everything that's possible. We've taken personal inventory, and now there's a gap between where we are and where we want to be, and we start to get motivated to close that gap. I mean, if you look at what burnout has inspired people to do, I mean, people have gone and gotten MBAs and PhDs, they've written books, they've run marathons, they've learned new languages. I mean, it really not just inspires us, but we're gonna move things forward. It's gonna take a lot of time, energy, and effort. And that motivation often comes from the feeling of burnout.

[B]

And you also write that burnout really does add courage into our lives. It helps us to face our fears, to take risks. And it really does improve that profile inside people to take risks and put themselves out there when they might not be inspired to do that if they're feeling too complacent on their way to burnout.

[C]

Yeah. One of our biggest fears is the fear. Fear of failure. It can really paralyze us. And, you know, we get into that analysis, paralysis of all the things that are possible, and then we know we're about to make ourselves vulnerable. I mean, if we're going to improve things, things can't stay the same as they are right now in your life. You're going to have to change something. And with change comes risk. And sometimes we don't take that risk. Yet. The feeling of burnout, when it's really there, we say to ourselves, things can't get worse. It's worth the risk. It's worth being vulnerable. And all of a sudden, we get courage to act. And without the feeling of burnout, we might not have that courage again. I don't think it's a great feeling, but if you have it, use it. It really inspires us to take some risks, to go ahead and take that step forward that we've been hesitating because of the risk. And with that can come some great, great outcomes and results.

[B]

All right, so change can be good. That is author Steve McClatchy. He's the author of Decide, Work Smarter, Reduce youe Stress, and Lead by Example. He joins us on the line. Steve, thanks for coming on the show.

[C]

Thanks, J.R. thanks for having me.

[B]

And that's your money briefing. I'm JR Whalen in New York for the Wall Street Journal.

[A]

This episode is brought to you by Charles Schwab. Decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day. Washington Wise from Charles Schwab is an original podcast that unpacks the stories making news in Washington. Listen @schwab.com washingtonwise.