Is ‘I’m tired’ your most repeated thought?
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Isn’t it strange.
Vice-chancellors seem oddly chill, even when the whole institution is on fire.
Meanwhile, most academics I know are one meeting away from meltdown.
My schedule’s full in term-time— but let’s be honest, Serena Williams would think it was chill. Angela Rayner would ask if that’s all I’ve got to do today. But my grandma? She thinks I’m run ragged.
They reveal something wild about how we perceive energy and capability. Some people run institutions or nations. Others get worn out making a Tesco run. Your schedule might be “busy,” but would Michelle Obama blink? Probably not.
This isn't about comparison — it's about capacity.
Capacity is not about doing more. It’s about holding more.
Emotionally. Mentally. Energetically. Without crumbling.
It’s choosing powerful thoughts over familiar, tired loops. It’s deciding who you want to be — the kind of academic who writes grants with clarity and still leaves at 4pm.
What if "I’m tired" was just one thought you could choose to stop repeating?
Try this:
- Say to yourself: “I’m tired.”
- Then: “I have unlimited capacity.”
Feel the difference in your body? Your breath? That’s not magic. That’s thought work.
If you’re stuck in burnout, it’s time to stop worshipping the story of burnout.
Not because it’s wrong.
Because it’s not useful anymore.
Start here:
“I am learning to feel discomfort without shutting down.”
“I can fail and still be okay.”
“It’s safe for me to stop managing everyone else’s emotions.”
🔥 If you're going to stretch into leadership, visibility, and impact — you need to expand your capacity to feel and to keep an eye on your thoughts. To build capacity to withstand judgment. Uncertainty. Criticism. Without curling up into a ball or snapping at your partner over dinner.
You don’t need better time management.
You need better emotional tolerance.
And if you want to build a career that lasts?
You protect the asset. (That’s YOU.)
Because the person who changes their field… isn’t doing it from a place of exhaustion.
Let’s build capacity. Thought by thought. Boundary by boundary. Choosing only the intentional battles.
