If work has felt heavier than usual lately, you’re not imagining it.
Not the “I need a vacation” kind of tired.
The deeper kind. The kind that comes from fixing the same problems over and over again.
Decisions get made somewhere else.
Changes roll out fast.
And then you’re expected to make it work...inside systems that were already stretched thin.
If that’s been your reality, here’s the reframe I want you to sit with today:
You’re not exhausted because you’re weak.
You’re exhausted because you’re downstream.
What Being “Downstream” Actually Does to You
When you live downstream long enough, absorbing the impact of decisions you didn’t make, something subtle starts to happen:
You’re overloaded, but also bored (because it’s the same preventable mess on repeat).
You start feeling invisible
You wonder if you’re becoming “the difficult one” simply because you can see patterns others can’t
That’s not a mindset issue.
That’s not negativity.
That’s a positioning problem.
And most advice completely misses it.
Why “Be More Positive” Isn’t Helping
Traditional motivation advice assumes something that isn’t true for you:
That effort automatically leads to influence.
But for high-competence professionals, the real drain isn’t effort. It’s effort without leverage.
Research in organizational psychology shows that motivation erodes fastest when people:
carry responsibility without authority
are relied on for outcomes but excluded from decisions
are expected to adapt endlessly without stability
Your nervous system stays alert.
Your mind stays busy.
Your energy leaks. Not because you don’t care, but because caring costs too much.
The New Opportunity (and It’s Simpler Than It Sounds)
Most advice tells you to:
- speak up more
- manage up better
- find your passion, or even
- wait it out
But the real opportunity for people like you is different:
Stop trying to fix everything, and start building stability and influence, one controllable move at a time.
Not by waiting for permission.
Not by joining the clique.
Not by becoming someone you’re not.
But by getting very clear on:
✓ what’s true
✓ what’s actually in your control
✓ what one next move reduces chaos instead of feeding it
This doesn’t fix the whole system.
But it gives you your footing back.
A Practical Reset You Can Use Today
Here’s something you can do this week, not to solve everything, but to stop bleeding energy.
Ask yourself:
→ What is the one recurring friction point that drains me the most?
→ What part of that is actually mine to influence?
→ What small adjustment would reduce rework, confusion, or emotional load?
This might look like:
✓ tightening one process
✓ clarifying one expectation
✓ protecting one boundary
✓ documenting one workaround that saves time
You’re not fixing the system.
You’re stabilizing your corner of it.
And that matters more than you think.
Key Takeaway
If your motivation feels unreliable right now, it may not be because you’re broken.
It may be because you’ve been operating downstream, absorbing impact without leverage.
The opportunity isn’t to work harder.
It’s to work with reality.
📌 One More Thought Before You Go
You don’t need a new personality.
You don’t need to quit.
And you don’t need to pretend things are easier than they are.
There is a more grounded way to navigate work, especially when you’re too capable to ignore what isn’t working.
Over the next few weeks, I want to unpack that with you.
Quietly.
Practically.
One stabilizing insight at a time.
