#SelfAwareness

Before my mentor told me I "worked too hard," I thought that "effort" was simply the cost of being mediocre. He said, "Slow down. Burnout is not a badge." I nodded politely. But the uncomfortable truth is this: if you are comfortable letting your foot off the gas for a single day, then you simply haven't found a problem worth solving. People mistake presence for progress when ease is offered as sanctuary. I am not laboring to be worn out. I am resource-maximizing entirely until the mission is reframed by someone whose own fire matches my temperature. Until then, grind looks like grace from where I seat my courage.