How to Manage Stress and Avoid Burnout: 5 Hidden Traps Draining Founders and CEOs

Running a company isn’t just a job—it’s a full-body, full-mind, full-soul commitment. But what happens when the energy that once fueled your vision starts to feel... drained?

Many founders and CEOs face an invisible enemy: not dramatic burnout, but slow erosion. Not firestorms, but hidden traps: subtle psychological patterns that quietly chip away at your energy, clarity, and health.

In today’s high-stakes business world, CEO health optimization is no longer optional. It’s the foundation of sustained, long-term leadership success. And if you want to stay 10 years ahead of your competition while fully engaging with your family, your mission, and your team, it starts by identifying and overcoming these 5 traps.

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Trap #1: Performance Over Authenticity

You’re sharp in the boardroom, always “on,” and constantly delivering. But inside? You’re not sleeping well. You’re on edge. And you’re silently powering through with the belief that vulnerability is weakness.

Reality check: When your internal state doesn’t match your outward image, stress builds—and your team feels it. Authenticity isn’t oversharing. It’s alignment. It’s leading with truth.

“The second you stop pretending, you start leading.”

Action step: Admit what’s real, first to yourself. Then, practice one small authentic move this week. That’s leadership with longevity.

Trap #2: Pleasing Over Boundaries

You’re the dependable one—the “yes” person. But here’s the truth: saying yes to everything means saying no to your well-being.

Founder burnout often starts here: with compromised sleep, missed workouts, and another month without that long-overdue doctor’s visit. And the longer you defer your own needs, the louder your body and brain push back.

Action step: Set one clear boundary this week. Treat your morning workout like a board meeting. Calendar it. Guard it. Embrace being strategically selfish.

Trap #3: Certainty Over Progress

“I’ll launch it once I know it’s perfect.”
Sound familiar? The quest for certainty is often dressed up as “being smart”—but it’s fear in disguise.

High performers often fall into analysis paralysis, delaying action while they think they’re planning. But perfection doesn’t exist. And in the meantime, your momentum—and mental edge—evaporates.

Action step: Choose one decision or habit you’ve been putting off. Give yourself 72 hours to take the first imperfect step. Progress loves motion, not perfection.

Trap #4: Comfort Over Growth

You’ve achieved success. You’ve built a routine that works. So why rock the boat?

Because growth requires discomfort, coasting isn’t neutral—it’s reverse with the brakes off. And comfort, if left unchecked, becomes a velvet coffin.

Action step: Stretch yourself. Sign up for the challenge. Join the room where you’re not the smartest person. Spark that learning curve again.

Trap #5: Independence Over Connection

You’re the leader. The rock. You’ve “got this.” But underneath, you’re shouldering everything alone.

Nearly 60% of CEOs report feeling lonely, and most agree that it negatively impacts their performance. Executive performance coaching and curated peer support are no longer luxuries; they are essential.

“Loneliness isn’t a badge of honor. It’s a blind spot.”

Action step: Build connection into your system. Reach out to a fellow founder. Schedule the call. Create space for honest conversations with people who get it.

The Path Forward

These traps don’t scream. They whisper. And over time, they quietly dismantle the very foundation of elite leadership: energy, clarity, and conviction.

But here’s the good news—once you’re aware of them, you can reverse them.

At the highest levels of business, your biology is your business advantage. Through data, strategy, and intelligent systems, we help decision-makers like you optimize performance and protect their competitive edge with purpose.

This is CEO health optimization in real life. It’s executive performance coaching with teeth.

And it starts with asking: Which trap am I stuck in?

Ready to lead with more energy, presence, and purpose?

Let’s talk. Learn more about working together or schedule a private conversation here.

Until then: Optimize today. Lead tomorrow.

Transcript (May Not Be As Exact)

(0:06) He built a multi-million dollar company, he's respected, he's highly accomplished, (0:12) but he's completely drained behind the scenes. And in this episode, I'm going to break down (0:18) five subtle but dangerous temptations that sabotage even the most elite CEOs, founders, (0:25) and other A-level decision makers.

If you want to stay 10 years ahead of your peers (0:29) and avoid burning out in the process, then you'll love this episode.(0:47) Welcome to Executive Health. I'm your host, Julian Hayes II, and here we are on a mission (0:52) to help high-performing CEOs, founders, and other A-level decision makers leverage their biology (0:58) as a competitive advantage, and ultimately take total command of their body and mind, (1:03) stay 10 years ahead of their peers, and still have more than enough energy left over to show (1:10) up fully for their family.

And so if this is your first time here, welcome.If you've been here (1:15) before, welcome back. It means a lot that you're here. Go ahead and hit that subscribe button so (1:21) you never miss another video or interview.Now, let me ask you a question here. (1:27) What's the point of building an empire if your health is going to silently crumble behind the (1:36) curtain? And this is something I see all the time. You have men and women who are sharp in the (1:43) boardroom, and they're slowly unraveling on the inside.

And the scariest part about this is that (1:52) this is not burnout in the traditional sense that we tend to think about it. (1:56) But in actuality, this effect is a little more quiet, a little more subtle. And in fact, (2:05) you know, some research here, over 70% of CEOs say that they felt some level of burnout (2:12) in the last 12 months.And more than half have experienced some sort of mental health issue (2:19) in this past year alone. And so this isn't about weakness. This is just being human and, (2:29) I guess, applying and falling under pressure.And the root cause of all this is not just the (2:36) workload. It's what I call these temptations.

These subtle mental traps that seem harmless, (2:43) but over time, they can most definitely erode your clarity, compromise your recovery, (2:51) dull your overall edge and vigor, and ultimately sabotage both your health and your leadership.(3:00) And so that's what we're diving into today.

And so I'm going to break down five of these (3:06) most common types of temptations that will sabotage CEO well-being, and most importantly, (3:13) how to spot them early and start reversing them today.

And the thing is, before we get into these, (3:18) when we think about temptations and we think about health, it's when you're at the top and when (3:24) you're a leader, it's much more than just making sure you exercise and eat healthy.There's a (3:35) hugely psychological component that goes into it that can really derail someone's health. (3:41) And so getting into the first temptation here is, number one, performance over authenticity. (3:49) And this is one that I see all the time.

Maybe I'm a little guilty of it myself in the past at times. (3:57) And I think it's more of a male thing, most likely. It's this urge to perform, (4:04) to maintain your image, to be the unshakeable, the always on, the always sharp CEO.(4:14) And you might be thinking, well, that's part of the job, right? To bring this, (4:22) have this image out there. And sure, there's a level of composure and control that comes with (4:28) leadership. But when the image of performance becomes more important than the truth of how (4:37) you're actually doing, that's where things start to break.

And so maybe you told yourself, (4:43) I just need to power through it. I'll rest later. I don't have time to deal with this right now.(4:50) That sounds good. That sounds strong. But it's not really strength.It's actually a form of (4:54) slow self-destruction. And research shows that when leaders actually suppress how they really feel (5:03) and constantly fake being fine, it doesn't make them more respected. It makes them more stressed.(5:10) And ironically, it makes their teams trust them less.

Now, when we say authenticity, (5:18) this doesn't mean oversharing, being weak, pouring all your feelings out there. That is not what (5:26) this means at all.That's unnecessary. And that's actually detrimental as well. (5:30) What this means instead is you're leading with the truth and not just performance, (5:36) not just making it performative art.

Because when you operate from a place of real alignment, (5:42) when your internal state matches your external posture, your energy improves, (5:49) your decision-making sharpens, and the people and even the investors actually trust you more. (5:57) So as we go about this step here, what can you actually do? And it's actually a very simple step (6:03) that you can do. And it's to simply start small, to just say it out loud, even just to yourself.(6:12) What's actually true is that I'm not sleeping well. I'm overweight and lethargic.

I'm overwhelmed.(6:19) I'm not operating at full capacity right now. I remember a while ago, I said to myself, (6:24) I just have this feeling of being anxious and just unable to just relax a little bit. (6:33) I'm always like wounded up about something.

And that awareness is the beginning of sovereignty, (6:41) is the beginning of taking complete power over the situation. And then once you do that, (6:47) practice one small, authentic move this upcoming week. So maybe you tell your team that I'm going (6:56) to take this Friday afternoon off for strategic thinking, for recovery, and just to really (7:01) decompress myself and come back stronger.

Or maybe you skip a meeting and you go for a walk instead. (7:09) Or if you don't skip that meeting, maybe you take that meeting, that call while you're going for a (7:15) walk. Maybe you tell your spouse that, hey, I'm pushing too hard and I need to rest. Or I could (7:22) use your help as it pertains to me getting my fitness back on track. These moves may seem small (7:31) and it definitely requires a little vulnerability, but they're also quite impactful and very powerful. (7:41) I like to think that the second you stop pretending, (7:44) you are going to start leading much more impactfully.

And so temptation number two (7:51) is pleasing over boundaries. And this one is subtle, as a lot of them are, (7:58) and it's deadly over time. And this is the need to please everyone.I like to think that a lot (8:06) of times leaders are very benevolent individuals, and sometimes that can get us in trouble. (8:14) Because with this need to please everyone, it sometimes can be harder to enforce clear (8:20) boundaries or harder to actually take care and address our personal well-being. So as a CEO or (8:28) a founder, this can often look like saying yes to every request, you're always being accessible, (8:33) you're taking on things that you really shouldn't have on your plate, (8:39) all in the name of being a responsible and available leader.

Now, on the surface, (8:47) this feels and looks like commitment, but unmitigated, this can lead to depletion. (8:59) And here's what makes this part tricky. This people pleasing instinct is often tied to your (9:06) success. Now, you probably got here because you're dependable, you're driven, and you're (9:14) willing to do more. But if you never ever say no, or don't say no on the right things, (9:23) you're never going to say no to yourself. You'll skip workouts, you'll shorten your sleep, (9:28) you'll put up recovery, you'll defer that doctor's appointment for the fifth month in a row.

(9:33) And eventually, in some form, in some shape or capacity, your health will start to erode under (9:40) this surface. So burnout doesn't always announce itself in a glaring fashion, in some loud manner. (9:49) Sometimes, like inflammation, it's low grade.It can be low grade fatigue. It could be maybe (9:55) you're a little snappier with your tempers, a little shorter with your tempers. And (10:01) maybe there's a persistent thought in the back of your mind that I used to have more in the tank, (10:08) or I'm just not feeling like myself.It's harder to do a lot of the things that I used to do. (10:17) It takes more effort to do those things. And research backs this up, actually.Leaders who (10:23) lack clear boundaries report higher rates of overwhelm, exhaustion, and dissatisfaction, (10:29) and lower performance across the board. But those who establish the boundaries, (10:35) especially around their time and their energy, they're not just protecting their health.

(10:40) They're actually going to be able to lead more effectively in and outside the office.(10:47) So the question becomes, are you the CEO of your company, or are you essentially and slowly (10:52) becoming pretty much a glorified firefighter and approval junkie in this situation here? (10:59) Now, an action step here is to reclaim your time and energy, setting just one clear boundary this (11:10) week. Maybe it's no meetings after 7 p.m. Maybe it's protecting your morning workouts (11:17) as if it's a board meeting. And when I say protecting your morning workouts, another (11:21) great way to do this is to put it on your calendar like you do a lot of other things.(11:28) Or maybe it's saying, I can't take this on right now. I don't have the capacity for it. (11:33) Can we revisit this next quarter?

(11:37) So boundaries aren't selfish.They're strategic. And I think I wrote a long time ago an article (11:44) that being strategically selfish is an imperative for leaders in today's world. (11:52) Because when your calendar reflects your true priorities, your performance will compound.(11:59) So let's be strategically selfish. Let's stop trying to be available to everyone. (12:05) And more importantly, and first and foremost, let's start being accountable to ourselves.

(12:13) So we have temptation number three, and this is certainty over progress. (12:18) And this temptation in particular hides behind logic. It sounds smart.(12:25) It sounds responsible. But it's still going to quietly kill momentum over time. (12:34) This trap of choosing certainty over progress, you'll tell yourself things like, (12:41) I need more time to research.Let me look at a few more options.

I'll start once I know the (12:47) plan is perfect. And you can probably throw in a bunch of other sentences after that.(12:54) And this is a version of analysis by paralysis. And this feels productive in the moment. (13:02) But it's really just a sophisticated form of procrastination.

Because we've heard this a lot. (13:11) This statement's not new here. But perfect doesn't exist.We conceptually understand that. (13:18) But sometimes living that, embodying that, that's a whole different animal to tame. (13:27) And the reason why is because when you're waiting for 100% certainty before you act, (13:33) no matter what that is, it keeps you stuck.It delays you actually taking action, (13:39) which importantly delays you from actually getting feedback from whatever action you're (13:45) taking that you can then iterate and get better. So, you delay the health protocol.

You put off the (13:52) lab work.You never pull the trigger on hiring that coach or advisor. You never actually start. (14:01) What's the cost of that? There's a huge cost with that.And the cost is not even just financial. (14:10) The cost could be unrealized potential. The cost could be time and the quality of interactions with (14:18) your family.There's so many different types of costs from not taking action and putting off (14:24) things. And so, research here also shows that perfectionism, especially among high performers, (14:30) is strongly linked to, of course, procrastination, stress, and burnout in some form or fashion.

(14:37) Now, Patrick Lencioni, the guy who wrote The Five Temptations of a CEO and a bunch of other great (14:44) books, he warned us about this thing where he said that without action, even a wrong decision (14:52) accompanies thoughts.Leaders must learn to move forward even when things aren't perfectly clear. (15:00) The same thing applies to your health. If you wait for the ideal program, (15:07) the perfect window of time, when things slow down, I need a guaranteed outcome, et cetera, (15:15) and et cetera, you're still going to be waiting a year exactly from this date.

And one of the (15:20) worst punishments is to be a couple years into the future and not much has changed. That sounds (15:30) like hell to me. And progress requires motion.And motion means tolerating a little uncertainty, (15:42) a little turbulence. So, the action step here that you can do to attach to this (15:50) is just to simply pick one thing that you've been sitting on. Don't overthink this.(15:57) Think about this for 5 to 10 seconds. And you're going to have something that pops up in your head. (16:05) Whether that's a health goal, a habit change, a decision, someone to call, that person you've (16:12) been meaning to call, that business, that project you want to start.I don't know.

But there's (16:18) something you've been sitting on. And give yourself a 72-hour deadline to take this first step.(16:25) And I said the first step. Not the perfect step, but just the first one. So, maybe it's booking (16:33) that physical.Maybe it's hiring that performance coach. Maybe it's simply committing to no screens (16:40) 30 minutes before bed. 90 is better, but we'll start with 30.It doesn't have to be big. (16:48) It just has to be real. It has to be actually something.

Forward motion creates clarity, (16:55) and there's no other way around it. So, start now, refine later, and rinse and repeat. (17:02) This is how you keep and build momentum.So, temptation number four is comfort over growth. (17:10) This one is sneaky because on the surface, this looks like stability. But comfort over growth, (17:22) and when you choose that, it feels fine because, you know, you built something, right?

You have (17:31) progress at this time.And to a certain extent, you have earned the right to coast a little. At (17:38) least that's what it seems. But you have your routines dialed in.You know what works. And (17:45) deep down, there's a voice saying, why mess with a good thing? And we see this a lot of times in (17:50) business where it's hard for them to change. It's hard for them to pivot because what they (17:56) have now is a known commodity, but there may be a limit or a cap on that.

And comfort is addicting. (18:04) And if you're not careful, it becomes essentially a velvet coffin. And growth only lives on the other (18:11) side of discomfort.And that discomfort can be a physical discomfort, a mental discomfort, (18:16) even a spiritual discomfort, or a emotional discomfort. But you're always going to have (18:24) to experience some form of discomfort. If you're always choosing ease, you're choosing routine, (18:31) you're choosing familiarity, you are going to eventually be plateauing.

You are no longer (18:37) adapting. You are no longer stretching. You are just repeating.You are stagnating. And for me, (18:45) I don't think the idea of maintaining or just coasting actually is a thing. (18:55) I think you're either going forward or you're going backward.Maybe you're going backward, (19:00) but you're going so slow that it doesn't feel like anything. But nevertheless, (19:04) you're going backwards still. And so stagnation is a slow form of decline, (19:11) as I was saying, with moving backwards.

And psychology backs this up. Moderate stress and (19:17) challenges actually improve performance and resilience. I don't know why we needed a (19:21) research study on that, but I found one.And because it seems common sense to me, but (19:26) you know, some people need to see those things. But you can also think of this like lifting weights. (19:33) You're only going to build muscle by pushing resistance and then, of course, dialing it (19:37) back with recovery and sleep.

But you still initially need that stimulus, that eustress. (19:44) And so if everything's easy, of course, you're probably not growing. (19:50) And what you can do here is to just choose one area once again.If you know it's a trend, (19:55) it's always just doing one thing. It's a great book, by the way. So you choose one area where (20:00) you've gotten a little too comfortable.So maybe that's your training routine. Maybe it's your (20:04) morning routine. Maybe it's how often you push your own learning.

And then I want you to stretch (20:10) it. So sign up for that race. Start that language.Make that large investment in coaching. Make that (20:18) investment in the market or whatever. Join the room where you're not the smartest guy anymore.(20:23) Just start the thing that makes you nervous. Make that call. Whatever you got to do.Growth requires (20:29) friction. The goal isn't to necessarily suffer, though that's not a bad thing. (20:34) The goal is to just simply challenge yourself just enough to expand your capacity.

(20:41) Because when you stop chasing growth, you are going to, by default, reclaim some of that edge (20:48) and vigor that you may have felt was lost. And so the fifth and final temptation here (20:53) is independence over connection. It's one that most high-level men won't admit.(21:04) But almost all of them experience it, even myself. A lot of us, we choose independence over (21:12) connection, over opening up.

It's more of a lone wolf mindset.I've got it handled. Default. (21:23) I live on an island of isolation.Now, self-reliance before someone says, (21:30) no, you got to be self-reliant. Self-reliance got you here. Self-reliance is absolutely necessary.(21:36) But taking too far on the other end of the spectrum, this can become isolation. (21:43) And isolation is where leaders burn out quietly. Half of CEOs say they feel lonely in their role.

(21:54) About 61% of those say that loneliness hurts their performance. I don't remember what year it was or (22:01) which surgeon general said it, but there was a report on loneliness that it was an epidemic (22:07) and that was akin to smoking cigarettes in terms of how detrimental it was. (22:13) And so feeling disconnected, that's just not about being unpleasant and having that feeling (22:20) of unpleasantness.It's a liability to your leadership, to your organization, or to your (22:26) company.

Even elite operators need someone in their corner. Everyone needs someone in their (22:33) corner.There's no such thing as self-made. Everyone has someone, and it's something I had (22:38) learned. But most of us, and once again, I'll raise my hand, probably talking to myself a little (22:44) bit, we often don't seek support until things start to slip.For some of us, our energy drops.

(22:52) For some of us, our belly gets a little expanded out. Others, it's an important relationship (22:58) that declines or ends.Across the board, motivation starts to erode. Our mood, (23:04) our feelings starts to follow suit. And by then, the cost is already high.We've already paid the (23:11) cost in something. And when a CEO or a founder has no true outlet for an honest conversation (23:25) to truly open up about what's bothering them, because a lot of times when you're a founder, (23:31) when you're a CEO, you'll go through the day. You can put on a smile.

Everything's cool. (23:39) But you can be bleeding cash in the background. You can be worrying about payroll, (23:42) and you get in your car, and you're just having a dark night at this whole moment.But no one (23:46) will ever know. And if you have no outlet for that kind of honest conversation with anyone, (23:50) your mental state can go down. Your emotional state will deteriorate.

(23:57) And eventually, this trickles into every area of performance and facet of your life. (24:05) So connection is not just this feel-goody, fluffy thing. It's actually a strategic advantage.(24:14) Having the right connections, the right people goes a long way. And once again, the action step (24:23) connected with this temptation is once again one thing. (24:28) Build intentional connections into your operating system.

(24:32) This could mean joining a curated peer group. This can mean reaching out to a fellow founder (24:38) that you trust. Just having someone in your world who can challenge you, who can support you (24:46) without an agenda is paramount.And another one that is underestimated is personal relationships. (24:57) So schedule the dinner, make the call, be a husband, be a dad, (25:04) be a friend.

Because at the end of the day, once again, no one builds and sustains something (25:11) greater alone.Loneliness isn't a badge of honor. It's a blind spot that eventually will seep (25:22) its infections, if you want to call it that, into every other facet of our lives. (25:31) So trade independence for a strategic connection.

And just watch over time how much stronger you're (25:39) going to operate, how much meaning and fulfillment that you have in your life. (25:43) So as we land this ship here, the five temptations that quietly sabotage the health and performance (25:49) of even the most elite CEOs and founders, to recap our temptation number one, performance over (25:58) authenticity. Number two, pleasing over boundaries.Number three is certainty over progress.

(26:05) Number four is comfort over growth. And number five is independence over connection.(26:12) So these traps are common, but they're also simultaneously subtle. And they don't just (26:20) affect your body or your schedule. They impact your ability to lead at your highest level.(26:27) But the good news, you can easily beat them. Of course, it starts with awareness. (26:32) But when you do beat them, energy improves, mental acuity improves, and your edge returns (26:41) and improves.

So if this episode resonated with you in any form or fashion, and you're realizing (26:49) that it's time to get out of your own way and to start operating with intention again, (26:53) I work privately with high-performing CEOs, founders, and other A-level decision makers (26:58) through a high-touch experience specifically designed for elite leadership.

Now, we combine (27:06) data, strategy, a team approach, and discretion to help you optimize your biology, protect your edge, (27:11) and operate 10 years ahead of your peers. And most importantly, to have more than enough left (27:17) in the tank for your most important relationships, such as your family.And so if you're ready for (27:22) that level of precision, I invite you to reach out.

There's a link below to learn more and schedule (27:27) a private conversation with me. And until next time, stay awesome, be limitless, and optimize (27:34) today so you can lead tomorrow. Peace.