Your “Work Ethic” Might be Killing You
We love to glorify the grind.
“Hardworking.”
“Go-getter.”
“Will do whatever it takes.”
[Insert unresolved trauma response]
There’s a razor-thin line between a strong work ethic and straight-up workaholism. And most people? They’re not walking that line—they’re sprinting across it in burning shoes wondering why their feet hurt.
I know because I’ve been there. I love what I do, but that didn’t stop me from burning my entire career to the ground just to start over.
I come from a family of entrepreneurs and high-performers. People who care and who show up. I’m also the eldest daughter—so, yeah, let’s just say responsibility has been in my bones since birth. I got good grades in school, played varsity and club volleyball year-round in high school, and participated in any extracurriculars I could.
But that achiever instinct? It comes with a dark side. Especially when no one ever taught you how to rest without guilt, or how to pursue excellence without also internalizing everyone else’s expectations. I didn’t burn out because I was weak. I burned out because I was wired to believe I had to earn my rest. That I had to prove my worth every damn day.
But we don’t.
Here’s the thing no one tells you:
You don’t know you’re in a workaholic spiral until you’re halfway down the drain. You think you’re being productive. Dedicated. Driven. But in reality? You’re running on fumes, numbing yourself with caffeine, ghosting your social life, and convincing yourself it’s “just a busy season”... for the 8th quarter in a row.
The Difference Isn’t Hustle. It’s Compulsion.
A good work ethic? That’s showing up with integrity, owning your commitments and taking pride in what you create.
Workaholism? That’s being physically present but mentally fried. It’s skipping lunch, texting clients at midnight, and spiraling if you’re not checking something off a never ending to-do. It’s outsourcing your self-worth to how productive you feel.
Work ethic ≠ self-worth
One of the harvest pills to swallow wasn’t that I didn’t want to balance — it was that I didn’t even realize I was avoiding.
Red Flags I Learned the Hard Way
Racing thoughts at night that hijacked any chance of decent sleep.
Needing 3+ cups of caffeine just to start focusing
Forgetting to eat, or defaulting to DoorDash because the thought of cooking is one more task
Cancelling plans I was excited about because work guilt kicks in
If any of this resonates…that’s not ambition. That’s a cry for help.
Discipline ≠ Destruction
Boundaries are a part of having a good work ethic. So is rest. So is saying “no”.
You’re not being soft. This is about sustainability. If your “ethic” doesn’t include taking care of your physical and mental health, it’s not discipline; It's a self-description dressed in a suit and tie.
Let me say this loud for the perfectionists and people pleasers in the back:
You can’t help anyone if you’re dead inside.
Take the oxygen mask metaphor we all love to quote but hate to follow:
You have to put your own mask on first. Otherwise you’re no good to the people you’re working so damn hard for.
TL;DR
You don’t earn your worth by burning out.
You don’t prove your value by breaking yourself.
You don’t build a legacy by skipping your life.
Work hard? Of course.
But rest harder. Say “no” louder, more often. And never confuse overworking with excellence again.
