Excellence Exhaustion: What Is It and How to Prevent It, with Nina Sossamon-Poghe

Agile Coaches' Corner

This week, Dan Neumann welcomes Nina Sossamon-Poghe to today’s conversation. Nina has an interesting background as a U.S. gymnast, a News Anchor, and a Corporate Leader with a unique perspective on resilience, mental health, and well-being.

In this episode, Dan and Nina discuss an innovative concept, Excellence Exhaustion, while they define and analyze its significance. Nina also shares the “Resilience Route Navigator,” a framework designed to help high achievers combat Excellence Exhaustion.

Key Takeaways

• What is Excellence Exhaustion?

• Excellent Exhaustion is different from burnout. Nina likes to define burnout as the mental exhaustion resulting from doing the same thing repeatedly.

• Excellence exhaustion is the stress and anxiety experienced by high achievers who are driven to surpass their previous achievements.

• Constantly advancing technology and perpetual connectivity are drivers of Excellence Exhaustion.

• The Symptoms of Excellence Exhaustion are anxiety, mental fatigue, reduced motivation, and diminished productivity.

• The Resilience Route Navigator:

• The Resilience Route Navigator is a framework that helps high achievers combat Excellence Exhaustion through TIPS: Timeline, Isolate the Problem, People, and Story.

• Timeline thinking: This step is needed to acquire perspective. Whatever is happening to you, put it in the timeline of your life; check on the life that came before this moment and all the blank space ahead for the years yet to come. This exercise is also a great way to gain appreciation for all you have done in your journey so far.

• Isolate the Problem: Focus on your current situation and leave the past and the future out. At this stage, the present is the main event; this is the only area in which you can take action.

• People: Who is in this struggle with you? You are not alone. Seek the assistance of others who can assist you in navigating the current situation.

• Story: It is crucial that you choose the words you use to tell the story of what is going on in your life. Narrate the events in the most empowering and optimistic manner.

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