Let’s start with the facts. I’ve been burned out a couple times in the last handful of years. Once during COVID. Secondly, and more recently, I felt it after a work trip overseas to France. I came home feeling exhausted (plenty of jet lag) and in need of some R&R. Instead I had both kids visit the Emergency Room in a couple week span and my wits felt entirely frayed.

My Goal With This Post: Help men recognize the early warning signs of burnout before they actually crash out—across work, home, relationships, and personal health.

I’m Fine. The Most Dangerous Lie We Tell Ourselves.

Burnout isn’t a “big bang” like development. It’s a slow leak of energy. The direct result of high-achieving dads juggling multiple roles they don’t discuss or seek praise for. These roles include achieving career success, coaching your kids, and being a “good” Dad. They also involve showing up as a husband, helping keep up at home, and playing an active role at church. And this is just the beginning, the list goes on. Burnout eventually feels like hitting a wall, but instead of a strong impact, it’s more of a THUD and the tank is empty.

What Does Burnout Actually Look Like? (It’s NOT just exhaustion)

• Work: disengaged, mentally checked out, cynical about everything
• Marriage: short temper, low patience, little desire for connection
• Fatherhood: present but not there—resentful of the demands kids place on you
• Personal Health: sleep suffers, workouts stop, diet crashes, the spiral begins.
• Home Duties: avoidance, procrastination, or doing everything with bitterness

I write these things to share that I’ve 100% been there. I’m not above it, or you. I’ve been IN IT! I’ve felt each of these feels in their entirety!

In order to diagnose where I am, here are five self-audit questions to ask:

1. Am I showing up how I want to at home and at work?
2. What’s something I used to enjoy that now feels like a burden?
3. When’s the last time I felt truly rested?
4. Am I numbing out or zoning out more than usual?
5. Would the people closest to me say I seem off?
6. **A bonus – what am I avoiding that I usually wouldn’t?

In the next post, Burnout Recovery for Dads: How to Reclaim Your Energy Without Quitting Everything, I’ll provide practical and doable strategies I’ve used to reset. These strategies will help dads regain their energy, clarity, and focus. They can achieve this without quitting their jobs or abandoning their responsibilities.

PS – I must share an experience I had dining out with my family a couple weeks back. When I asked for the check, the waiter said, “not to worry sir, this one’s on the owner. He came out, pointed to your table and said, see that guy (pointing at my table)…his meal is on me tonight!” My wife and kids were shocked at a stranger (to them) and his generosity. When I got home, I sent him a text of gratitude to thank him for the meal. Here’s what he said back.

Appreciate it and appreciate your Keen Mind 😉 there is a depression rate in men that is way too high. I love your message.

Your kind words keep me going Blake!

Finding Rhythm Again: Back-to-School, Back-to-Habits

There’s something about Back to School season that feels like a reset button. The kids are back in classrooms, calendars are suddenly packed with sports and activities, and the pace of life changes overnight. For me, this season has always been an invitation to find rhythm again—to lean back into the power of daily habits.

Because here’s the truth: BIG things don’t just happen. They’re built. Quietly. Repeatedly. Daily.

Over time, these daily actions compound in ways we can’t always see in the moment. It’s the principle Jeff Olson called The Slight Edge: small choices, stacked on top of each other, lead to massive gains. But here’s the catch—those same choices are “easy to do” and just as easy NOT to do.

Skip one workout? No big deal. Eat fast food instead of a healthy meal? Happens all the time. Forget to read or stretch before bed? Who will notice?

The answer is simple: You will.

Because over weeks, months, and years, those little “easy NOT to dos” add up too—and usually not in the direction you want.

That’s why I rely on my Daily Non-Negotiables.
These aren’t goals. They’re not wish lists. They’re commitments—anchors that keep me grounded, productive, and pushing forward regardless of what the calendar throws at me. The outcome is stacking wins. Day after day.

Here’s my list:

• Sweat – Every single day, I move hard enough to sweat. A run, a lift, a Peloton ride, doesn’t matter. Motion creates energy. Some days I knock out two sessions.
• Hydrate – If I’m not putting clean fuel in, I can’t expect peak output.
• Bodyweight lifts – Push-ups, pull-ups, air squats. Simple. Accessible. Zero excuses.
• Eat mostly healthy meals – Food is fuel, and fuel dictates how I show up. Think 80/20…mostly good!
• Daily reading – I crave simplicity and books to build me: The Daily Mission by Tim Tebow and The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday. A mix of faith and philosophy keeps me balanced.
• Meditation & stretch for restful sleep – Recovery is the multiplier. Without rest, none of the other habits matter.

It’s not a sexy list. It’s not complicated. And that’s the point.

When the school year ramps up and life speeds forward, I don’t want to waste energy deciding how I’ll take care of myself. I already know. These habits don’t just protect my time and energy—they multiply them.

And if I keep stacking these wins, day after day? That’s when BIG things happen. Not because of one breakthrough moment, but because I built the momentum brick by brick.

Back to school isn’t just about the kids—it’s about us too. It’s a reminder that structure is powerful. Rhythm is powerful. Habits are powerful.

The question isn’t: Can you do it?
The question is: Will you?

Because it’s easy to do.
And it’s easy NOT to do.

Choose wisely.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit”

• It could be your job. It’s a grind.
• It could be your workout regimen. It’s a grind.
• Staying committed to eating well. It’s a grind, with temptation around every corner.
• It could be parenting. It’s definitely a grind.

This hit me while watching the Netflix series Full Swing. The show follows PGA Tour golfers through the highs and lows of professional life—tournaments, travel, family, and all the moments in between.

At some point, almost every guy has said, “Man, being a pro golfer would be amazing!”

Would it?

After watching the show, I kept coming back to this idea: their dream job might just be a relentless, unforgiving grind.

Think about it:

• Flying to 20+ cities a year for four-day tournaments.
• Leaving home on Tuesday, practice round Wednesday, then four straight days of competition.
• Living in hotels or rentals—not exactly a home base.
• You only get paid if you play well. No cut? No check.
• Golf isn’t just tee times. It’s hours of warm-ups, range work, putting drills, workouts, and recovery.
• Sign autographs. Fulfill media duties. Then repeat next week.

And maybe most importantly—it’s time away. Away from family. From routine. From normalcy.

The deeper I thought, the more obvious it became: the “dream job” is absolutely a grind. And for guys who’ve been doing it for a decade or more, I can only imagine how heavy that gets. But then I thought about a different kind of athlete. The ones who don’t see the grind. They just live in the process.

Tom Brady. Peyton Manning. Kobe Bryant.

Hours upon hours watching film—not because they had to, but because they wanted to. Because in that film, they found opportunity. In the reps, they found rhythm. In the details, they found peace.

They didn’t resent the grind. They respected it.

So here’s the point. The grind doesn’t go away—no matter your role, title, or sport. But when you find appreciation in it, something changes. The work becomes a teacher. The process becomes the point. And the results? They show up. Not overnight. But over time.

Keep grinding. But more importantly—keep loving the reason you grind.