Your Career (and Burnout) Problems Aren’t What You Think They Are
What I learned from breaking down, burning out—and waking up
Five years ago, I was lying on a hospital bed at 3:51 AM, struggling to breathe.
Over the next six hours, the doctors ran every test to rule out a heart attack—and found nothing.
The doctor didn’t say anything conclusive but finally asked: “Is your work stressful?”
That was the moment I realized something deeper: everyone, including medical professionals, assumed my panic attack was caused by work.
But what if they were wrong?
Since that ER visit, I’ve gone from recovering from burnout and healing my anxiety to becoming the Global Head of Product Marketing at a publicly listed healthcare company in Australia—while living a peaceful life with my wife and our husky.
The shift didn’t come from productivity hacks, new skills, or grinding harder.
It came from changing how I identified with work.
If you’ve tried everything—better time management, stricter boundaries, new roles—and still feel overwhelmed, the real problem isn’t what you think.
The Obvious (and Incomplete) Fix
After that ER scare, I knew I had to change or my life would keep deteriorating. So I did what most people would: I quit my job and switched careers.
I embraced a beginner’s mindset—fewer responsibilities, more experimentation, balanced hours, and minimal expectations. Basically, I slowed down to heal.
Surprisingly, my work didn’t suffer. In fact, 1.5 years later, my new employer promoted me.
I was living with what’s called high-functioning stress—appearing calm, productive, and even successful on the outside, while quietly battling anxiety, depletion, and restlessness underneath.
I wasn’t chasing a promotion, but when it came, part of me said, "You deserve more.” Another part whispered, “Be careful.”
For the first time, I was aware of this internal conflict before it manifested externally.
Coming out of the COVID-19 lockdowns, I took a four-month trip to India. I worked remotely, but also attended yoga and meditation retreats.
Those retreats cracked something open inside me.
The Two Wolves Within
Over the next few months, I lived in two parallel realities:
The Inner World — I meditated daily, gave up alcohol and caffeine, journaled, exercised, and slowed down.
The Outer World — I leaned into my promotion, took on more projects, learned new skills, and chased recognition.
There were two wolves inside me.
The "good wolf" was presence, peace, and inner stillness. The "striving wolf" was the achiever, hungry for validation.
Unknowingly, I fed both. And on the surface, it looked like it was working. I was calm. People noticed my peace. I was kinder to myself and others.
But underneath, I was still split—torn between two identities I hadn’t integrated. Eventually, that inner tension caught up with me.
So the universe stepped in.
I lost my job—suddenly, without warning.
The Insight That Changed Everything
At first, it crushed me.
I had always identified as a high performer—someone who delivers under pressure, exceeds expectations, thrives on solving hard problems, and moves fast. I was the go-to person. The reliable one.
That identity disintegrated overnight.
After a few days of grief, I saw it for what it was: a sign. I took a full career break and returned to India. I trained as a yoga and meditation teacher. I volunteered at an ashram.
On my last day there, sitting in stillness after mopping the kitchen floors and serving food to hundreds, something shifted:
This is the most peaceful and fulfilled I’ve ever felt. I have no title, no income, no status. No one here even knows who I am. And yet—I feel more alive and connected than I ever did at any placed I’ve worked at.
I didn’t have to solve “difficult” problems or chase “impactful” work.
I wasn’t being evaluated. I wasn’t optimizing anything. I was simply present. If I was serving food, that was all I did wholeheartedly. If I was mopping the floor, that was the entire universe in that moment.
It was never about the work. It was how I approached it.
The real problem wasn’t my job—it was how tightly my self-worth was tied to achievement at work.
I didn’t even know when my career became my identity. But anything that challenged it felt like a threat to survival.
Without it, I felt like nothing.
Not anymore.
This is my story—but if you identify as a high performer or an overachiever, it’s yours too.
The Science: The Nervous System and Identity
Burnout, overwhelm, and chronic stress aren’t productivity issues.
They’re identity attachment issues playing out in your nervous system.
Here’s why:
Your nervous system isn’t built for constant evaluation. It evolved for survival—scanning for threats, managing energy, keeping you alive. But in modern life, most threats are psychological:
Am I falling behind?
Will I be recognized?
What if I’m not good enough?
When your self-worth is tied to job performance, your nervous system treats every challenge as existential.
This keeps you in low-grade fight-or-flight: anxious, irritable, exhausted.
When this low-grade stress doesn’t get regulated daily, it turns into chronic stress, burnout and eventually mental health issues.
Even during success, you can’t relax—because you’re guarding a fragile identity.
Healing begins when you untangle who you are from what you do.
That’s when your parasympathetic nervous system (rest-and-recover mode) comes back online—and with it, clarity, creativity, and calm.
The Wisdom: Karma Yoga and Freedom from Outcome
Ancient Indian philosophy calls this path Karma Yoga—action without attachment to results.
You have the right to act, but not to the fruits of your actions. — Bhagavad Gita, 2.47
This was the biggest shift in my inner operating system.
Work stopped being a scoreboard. It became a practice—a way to show up fully, with presence and integrity, whether I was leading a team or wiping down the kitchen counter.
Ironically, detaching from the result often led to better results—because I was operating with presence, not anxiety.
A New Operating System
When I returned from my career break, I brought a new Inner OS:
Career is just one part of life — family, health, and stillness matter equally
Focus on the craft — not the title, not the recognition
Mastery over metrics — improve week by week, quietly
People over prestige — work with good humans, not just popular brands
Energy first — live in a high vibration state, alignment will happen
The result?
A home full of love with my wife and husky
A leadership role where I get to do impactful work
Coaching others through their own identity transformations
What You Can Do Now
There are many things I can suggest you to build your self-awareness but if you do just one thing today, let it be this simple exercise:
👉 Detach your self-worth from your role
Start by answering this question:
“Who am I without my job or title?”
Think how you’d introduce yourself to a 8 YO or 80 YO who has no interest in your work.
Write at least three things that define you outside of work—something only you know to be true. Share your reflection by replying to this email. I’d love to know you better.
Look at them every day before and after bed for at least a week to remind yourself of this truth. Let that version of you lead.
The Real Problem
Most career problems are identity problems. Burnout, imposter syndrome, overwork—these often stem from how tightly your self-worth is tied to achievement at work.
When you shift the who behind the what, everything changes.
Join the Journey
If you’re ready to build a new Inner Operating System—one rooted in calm, clarity, and freedom from career anxiety—subscribe to Inner OS.
I share reflections, tools, and practices to help you untangle your identity from your job and reconnect with what truly matters.
It’s time to stop surviving work and start living your life!🧘♂️
Join the journey. Your new OS is waiting.
Cheers and Namaste,
Harsh