07/28/2026
Colleague: “How are you doing?”
Me & You: “Oh, I’m fine/Not bad/Pretty good/Can’t complain.”
Sometimes we want to look like we’re crushing it. We meet our deadlines, manage our calendars, and smile at meetings. Zoom smiling is easy enough, anyway.
But beneath the surface? So many of us (so many!) experience what the data calls quiet cracking: the penetratingly exhausting act of performativity (e.g., “Oh, I’m fine/Not bad/Pretty good/Can’t complain.” (yes, right: cue John Prine), while the nervous system is running on adrenaline. Our tanks are empty.
When we talk about burnout, we usually treat it like a scheduling error:
❌ “I just need better time management.”
❌ “I need to squeeze in a self-care weekend.”
Burnout is a warning, not a scheduling error. It’s a protection mechanism.
When workplace architecture is high-pressure, uncertain, or toxic (or all of the above), your internal system deploys protectors to keep you safe:
The Over-Achiever: Works late so no one would ever question your worth.
The Conflict-Avoider: Keeps you silent in meetings to dodge professional risk.
The Inner Critic: Critiques your work for you so no one else can blindside you.
These are actually fairly brilliant strategies that keep us safe in institutional spaces—but running them on high alert for years full-on drains the tank because honestly? Career growth isn’t about pushing yourself harder until you snap. It’s about building your own safety mechanisms you need to step back, ease out of high gear, and lead yourself from a grounded place.
I’ve been in higher education longer than I meant to be. I am always catching myself in performance mode while internally I’m in meltdown mode. When have you caught yourself performing “fine” while your system was screaming for a break?
