One Habit I Quit After Recovering From Burnout

Chasing a fancy title broke me. For a long time, I believed my career was the most important part of my life. I chased titles like Software Architect or Staff Engineer at my last full-time job. But I was at the wrong place, at the wrong time. After a couple of years, the honeymoon was over. Work felt like a burden, and I thought a new role would spice things up. When I discussed the chances of a promotion with my boss’s boss, I was told “You could build any role you want.” But all my ideas were rejected with a “Someone is already doing that.” That subtle rejection frustrated me even more. Months later, I was laid off. I let my work frustrations spread to the rest of my life. I stopped exercising, writing, and eating regularly. I burned out so badly I couldn’t get out of bed. It took about two years to wake up with purpose. Yes, change is possible. But burnout and a layoff made me rethink everything. My job and a title aren’t the most important parts of my life. I’ve placed strong…