Episode 291: Stephen Lew - Re-wiring Burnout and Self-care

This is Episode 291 of The Limitless Podcast with Nick Jonsson, and we are pleased to welcome Stephen Lew, Founder and CEO of The School of Positive Psychology.

In this conversation, Stephen goes straight to what many high performers need to hear right now. Burnout is not a personal phenomenon. It is a global phenomenon. He shares why people may say it is my boss, it is this meeting, it is this conversation, but what they are actually facing can be something deeper, something systemic, and even intergenerational.

Stephen introduces a phrase that lands hard. The humanity gap. He explains that we have been brought out in a system where we chase after performance through extraction, acceleration, optimization, scaling, in order to optimize performance and profits. Then we reach a milestone, and immediately we think about the next milestone. Our nervous systems, our brain, and our body are not wired to be living in this state.

Nick reflects what many listeners will recognize. This can be compounding. Built on, built on, built on, until it breaks. Stephen describes where that break shows up. A break between people and relationships. Meaning and progress and meaning. Purpose and work.

They also go deeper into the uncomfortable truth of intergenerational burnout. Stephen shares inherited narratives of how we show up in the world and how scripts can be passed from generation to generation. He speaks about emotional suppression, sacrifice, and the normalization of not showing pain or weakness, and how these patterns can bleed into relationships, leadership style, and work.

Then comes one of the most surprising lines in the entire episode. A symptom of burnout is not exhaustion. A symptom of burnout is actually feeling energized and driven. Because by the time you reach the exhaustion, it is too late. Stephen explains the stage before the crash, the rush of ideas, the chase of milestones, and why awareness and realignment to values, purpose, and meaning matters before you hit the wall.

This episode also covers compassion fatigue, why self care is important, and why leaders must begin with compassion with themselves first if they want to create safe environments for their people.

If you are feeling tired, disengaged, or completely white at the end of the day, this conversation will help you look beyond symptoms and ask the deeper question Stephen keeps pointing to. What is causing the burnout. What is the history of burnout. What is happening at the back.

Contact Stephen Lew to collaborate
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-lew-228aa2138/

🎧 Find more episodes on our website: nickjonsson.com/limitless-podcast