Burnout doesn’t usually come from working too hard.
It often comes from staying too comfortable.
The future I was most excited about for my son had nothing to do with careers or credentials.
Was I dreaming of him becoming a doctor, lawyer, or engineer with a picture-perfect life?
Honestly? No.
I was excited about him becoming a die-hard sports, music, and movie fan like me.
Same teams. Same music. Same movies.
Basically, (a very tall) mini-me.
Reality check:
• He’s not a sports fan
• Our music tastes are mostly opposites (his Spotify age was 21; mine was 77… so he’s probably right)
• Movies are where things get interesting
We both like superheroes. But he’s pulled me into genres I would’ve ignored on my own.
I’d never seen anime before him (I’m becoming a fan).
I actively avoided horror… until him.
Last fall, we saw Five Nights at Freddy’s 2.
This past weekend, we saw Primate—a horror movie about a rabid chimpanzee.
It was gory.
Gross.
Curl-into-the-fetal-position scary.
And somehow… exhilarating.
It stirred more emotion than the average, retread superhero movie. I won’t camp out for the next horror release—but I understand the appeal now. I won’t shy away from it in the future.
Here’s the leadership lesson I didn’t expect:
Boredom and burnout often show up when we stop letting ourselves be beginners.
That’s harder than it sounds—especially when being a beginner means learning from someone younger.
In the office, it’s easy to stay in our lane.
Same meetings. Same projects. Same expertise.
Safe. Efficient. Predictable.
But growth—and energy—often comes from stepping into discomfort:
• Sitting in on work you don’t “own”
• Learning tools you didn’t grow up with
• Letting a younger colleague pull you into their world—and resisting the urge to always be the teacher
I felt this recently at a Ross Business School holiday party when a graduate student suggested we exchange contact info via iPhone AirDrop… and I struggled. Not because I can’t learn it—but because moments like that quietly remind you how fast the world moves.
You won’t love everything you try.
That’s not the point.
The point is staying curious enough to be surprised.
So when my son asks me to take him to see the new Street Fighter movie later this year, I’ll go—open mind, no resistance.
And this upcoming week, I’ll also choose one place at work where I let myself be the learner again.Ac