What I Learned When I Was Burned Out

As a physically healthy, high-achieving entrepreneur, Ryan Caldbeck never expected to suffer from burnout. But after a series of professional and personal challenges pushed him into a long period of chronic stress, he decided to step down as CEO of his company, CircleUp, to give himself time to recover. Learning from that experience, he’s worked with other leaders at his organization (where he still serves as executive chairman) to create an environment that fosters team members’ well-being.

••• For most of my life, I associated burnout with a lack of self-discipline. I thought it happened to people who weren’t attuned to their needs, who pulled all-nighters, who didn’t exercise or eat well. As a physically healthy, reasonably successful entrepreneur, I assumed I wouldn’t ever burn out. I was very wrong. Read more on [**Health and behavioral science**](/topic/subject/health-and-behavioral-science?ab=articlepage-topic) or related topics [**Stress management**](/topic/subject/stress-management?ab=articlepage-topic) and [**Work-life balance**](/topic/subject/work-life-balance?ab=articlepage-topic)