Episode 29: Part 1 - What Happens to Many High Performers and What to Do About It with Doug Thorpe

Big Meaningful Life

In this powerful episode, I sit down with Doug Thorpe to share my personal journey through the high-performance worlds of Microsoft and Google—and the tipping point that forced me to pause. What began as love for the work slowly evolved into chronic fatigue, misalignment, and eventually, burnout.

We explore the unspoken cost of constantly pushing ourselves beyond capacity, the unique experience of burnout for sensitive high-achievers, and how COVID-19 served as a global wake-up call for so many of us. I also unpack how the stigma surrounding mental health—especially in corporate environments—can make it difficult to ask for help.

Here are five key takeaways from our conversation:

• Burnout isn’t always about doing too much—it can also stem from deep misalignment with your values.
• COVID-19 was more than a crisis—it was a reset point for reevaluating the rhythm of our lives.
• Sensitivity is a strength, but without support, it can make burnout feel isolating and misunderstood.
• Supportive leadership can be the difference between recovery and collapse.
• We need better “dashboards for life” to track our well-being as diligently as we track performance.

This episode is for anyone who’s been quietly carrying the weight of too much for too long.

Reflecting on your own journey… where might you be ignoring the signs your body, mind, or spirit are trying to send you?

Connect with Doug Thorpe:

https://dougthorpe.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougthorpe/

https://instagram.com/dougthorpe_com

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Connect with Sally on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallymahamdeh

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Music Credit:
This episode features ''Je n'y suis jamais allé'' by Yann Tiersen.