Freudenberger (who first coined the term burnout): ā€œ[it is] almost always an indication that the personā€™s goals have been externally imposed. Somehow [they] embarked on his present course because it was expected of [them]ā€¦ [they were] never the authentic source of [their own] choices and consequently they afford little real satisfactionā€

Maslach describes the ā€œburnout prone individualā€ as one who mostly yield to the other without adapting to their own capacity: ā€œis often unable to exert control over a situation and will passively yield to its demands rather than actively limiting them to his capacity to giveā€¦ faced with self-doubt this person tries to establish a sense of self-worth by winning the approval and acceptance of other peopleā€

From In Over Our Heads

Related: pain is not the unit of effort