May 19, 2025 • 13 mins
Are you showing up, grinding hard, but secretly running on empty?
In this episode, I unpack the real reason why high-performing men burn out… and how to rebuild the energy, clarity, and drive you thought you lost.
You’ll learn:
- Why burnout isn’t about doing too much — it’s about recovering too little
- The daily systems that fuel unshakable energy
- How to dominate your mornings and power down with purpose
- What men in the Highly Effective Man community are doing to get their edge back
If you’re tired of pushing through fatigue and want to feel dangerous again — physically, mentally, and spiritually — this one’s for you.
🎯 DM me “ENERGY” on Instagram (@thehighlyeffectiveman) or go to the Highly Effective Man Inner Circle to join the movement.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to the Highly Effective man podcast, hosted
by former Navy SEAL turned lifeand fitness coach.
I'm your host, jp Bolwan.
This podcast is your resourcefor unlocking the healthiest,
most productive and highlyeffective man within you.
Let's go.
What's up, guys?
(00:36):
Welcome back to the HighlyEffective man podcast.
I'm JP Bolwan, navy SEAL,veteran firefighter,
high-performance coach and thefounder of the Highly Effective
man System.
So this podcast is for men whowant more.
Not more noise but more clarity, not more grind but more power.
And if you feel like you'reconstantly tired, running on
fumes and still forcing yourselfto push through, then today's
(01:00):
episode is for you.
Okay, we're going to talk abouthidden burnout and I talk to a
lot of high performing menbusiness owners, fathers,
operators.
These are guys that get stuffdone, but here's what something
that you're never going to hearthem say out loud.
They're not going to say I'mtired man, I'm doing all the
(01:24):
right things, but I feel drained.
My tank's always low and Idon't know why.
Does that sound familiar?
Maybe you're training, you'reworking, you're leading, but
your energy is just gone.
You wake up groggy.
You have mood swings.
Maybe you're short with yourfamily and your workouts just
(01:46):
kind of feel heavy or notexciting.
Your mind feels dull.
Look, that's not weakness,that's burnout.
So let's talk about why highperformers burn out.
And here's what most men getwrong.
They think that burnout comesfrom doing too much, but
(02:09):
actually it comes fromrecovering too little and living
out of alignment.
You know, my weightliftingcoach used to say there's no
such thing as overtraining,there's only under recovery.
And that applies to not onlyweightlifting but also in life.
If you're not giving yourselftime to recover, to regroup,
(02:35):
you're bound to burn out.
And here's the real reasons whyhigh performing men burn out.
Number one maybe you've trainedyourself to ignore the signals.
I know I have right.
The SEAL teams taught me topush through anything pain,
fatigue, exhaustion, what's thatright?
But after the teams, I didn'tneed that 24-7.
(02:58):
I needed to learn how to listen, how to listen to my body, how
to listen to you.
Know how I am mentally energywise.
And then I needed to adjust.
But, like a lot of men, Iconfused numbness with mental
(03:19):
toughness, right, and eventuallyI paid the price.
Number two your body's in fightor flight mode all day long.
You know you're waking up anddiving straight into chaos.
Right, there's no morningroutine, just caffeine and
cortisol.
Let's go, baby, 100 miles anhour.
(03:39):
Give me some coffee?
Right, you finish your day andyou don't power down and instead
it's like it's more stimulation.
You know, with the scrollingemail, netflix, just more noise,
right, you never shift intorecovery mode, so your system
just never resets.
(03:59):
And number three, you're lackingrituals that actually create
energy.
You don't get energy fromtaking time off or taking a
weekend off, or pre-workoutdrink, right, you got to build
it daily and you do that throughgetting good sleep, maybe
(04:21):
practicing breath work, eatingthe right foods right, getting
good nutrition in getting somemovement, in whether it be
weightlifting or cardio, makingsure that your environment
supports, you know, havingenergy and then creating
boundaries, you know, so peoplearen't stealing your time.
(04:43):
Burnout is what happens whenyou skip that stuff over and
over again.
Right, and you say it's becauseof discipline.
But let me be real.
Discipline is not about pushingharder.
Discipline is about buildingsystems that make you more
(05:04):
effective every day.
So I'm going to share with youhow I rebuilt my energy, you
know, because there was a timewhen I was doing everything
right.
Okay, On the outside I'm stilltraining hard, still working,
still showing up, but inside Iwas fried.
(05:24):
You know I was snapping at mywife, my friends, my kids
falling asleep with my phone inmy hand.
You know I was dragging myselfthrough workouts that used to
excite me, so I stopped tryingto just grind through it, okay,
and I rebuilt my energy, and Idid it with a system.
(05:48):
So let me walk you through whatactually worked for me.
Right, the unshakable energysystem.
Number one morning dominance.
You know my mornings are sacred.
Now, right, I get up early,before the chaos, before my wife
(06:09):
and my kids wake up.
I don't look at my phone rightaway.
I brush my teeth, I weighmyself, shower coffee, 10
minutes of journaling, whetherit be gratitude or brain dump.
Make sure I drink some water,get some light stretching in
before any work, you know, andall of this helps to create
(06:33):
mental clarity before the chaosof the day starts.
Right, your morning routinewill determine your momentum for
the day period.
Number two you got to have dailyenergy checkpoints and every
man needs a system to check inon his energy throughout the day
(06:55):
.
At certain parts of the day,you need to ask yourself did I
eat the right fuel today, youknow?
Was I eating the right foods?
Did I take two to three minutesto relax or maybe breathe?
Did I move with intensity atleast once today?
And a real powerful question tokeep handy and always ask
(07:20):
yourself is how do I want toshow up right now in this
situation?
Right, whether it be at work,coming home, you know, and if
you track it, you're going tosee patterns.
(07:45):
And when you manage your energy,productivity takes care of
itself.
And number three you got topower down with purpose.
You know, personally, I callthis my power down ritual.
You know most guys, they justcollapse into the evening, right
, but the highly effective man,he finishes day with intent,
right, turning screens off.
Maybe it's doing somejournaling, whether it be
gratitude or a review of the daylike what went right today,
(08:09):
what went wrong, what can I dobetter.
And, most importantly, maybeit's taking time to pinpoint the
most important task for thenext day and then you can lay
out tomorrow's plan with thattask as a priority and then prep
your environment for success,whether it be just getting your
(08:31):
clothes ready for that earlymorning workout.
You know, don't give yourselfan option to.
You know, stay in bed.
If you don't control the end ofyour day, you'll never own the
start of the next one, numberfour you got to have an
environment that fuels you.
(08:51):
Energy it's not just internal,it's also environmental.
What's around you Ask yourselfwho am I around?
What kind of content am Iconsuming?
Is my home fueling peace orchaos?
You know, I tell guys all thetime that energy is contagious.
(09:15):
Right, we all know guys thatare either energy suckers or
energy givers.
Right, when somebody walks intothe room and they're an energy
sucker, everybody's just likedamn, he's here.
Right, but if somebody is anenergy giver man, the room
lights up, people are excitedand you want to be like that,
(09:36):
you want to be an energy giver.
You want to walk into a roomand say, hey guys, I'm here,
let's get some stuff done.
You want to guard your energy,like your life depends on it,
because it literally does.
Now, what the community is doing, and inside the Highly
(09:59):
Effective man inner circle, iswe've got men running this
system right now.
They're tracking streaks,whether it be with nutrition,
morning routines, evening powerdown rituals.
They're reclaiming theirmornings, they're reporting
better sleep, better moods, morepresence with their families.
You know, one guy told me, likeJP, I used to rely on energy
(10:24):
drinks all the time and Ihaven't had one in about three
weeks.
Now.
That's what happens when youstop grinding, trying to push
through, and you start buildinga system.
So here's what you got to dothis next week.
Number one take an audit right.
(10:46):
Audit your energy Rate yourselffrom one to 10 in these five
areas.
Number one sleep, nutrition,movement, your environment and
your recovery rituals.
Number two lock in one energyritual each morning and each
(11:10):
night.
Just start, simple, right.
Try to get one thing going dayafter day so that you can build
some momentum.
And number three dude, getaround men who don't accept
burnout as normal.
Surround yourself with peoplewho are getting after it.
(11:30):
That's the difference betweendrifting and dominating.
So if this hit home and you'reready to stop running on fumes,
it's time to rebuild your energythe highly effective man way.
You can DM me energy onInstagram at the highly
(11:51):
effective man, or you can headover to my website,
higherlevelcoachingco, and let'sdial in your system.
Let's get you back to beingunshakable.
You know you're not built toburn out, you're built to lead.
So thanks for tuning in to thehighly effective, effective man
(12:11):
podcast.
Share this with a brother who'sbeen grinding but looks like
they're tired and just barelygetting by.
Leave a review.
And remember you don't fixburnout by resting.
You fix it by rebuilding thesystem that fuels you.
Sharpen the blade, leadyourself first and I'll see you
(12:36):
on the next episode.
Let's go.
Thank you for listening to theHighly Effective man podcast.
If you enjoyed or learnedsomething on this episode, do me
a favor and share this withsomebody who you think needs to
hear it.
And one last thing if you wantto work with me as your coach to
help you get fit, be moreproductive and, in general, just
be the most effective versionof yourself, head over to my
(12:57):
site, higherlevelcoachingco onceagain, that's
higherlevelcoachingco andschedule a call with me there.
Thank you again, let's go.
Welcome to the Highly Effective man podcast, hosted
by former Navy SEAL turned lifeand fitness coach.
I'm your host, jp Bolwan.
This podcast is your resourcefor unlocking the healthiest,
most productive and highlyeffective man within you.
Let's go.
What's up, guys?
(00:36):
Welcome back to the HighlyEffective man podcast.
I'm JP Bolwan, navy SEAL,veteran firefighter,
high-performance coach and thefounder of the Highly Effective
man System.
So this podcast is for men whowant more.
Not more noise but more clarity, not more grind but more power.
And if you feel like you'reconstantly tired, running on
fumes and still forcing yourselfto push through, then today's
(01:00):
episode is for you.
Okay, we're going to talk abouthidden burnout and I talk to a
lot of high performing menbusiness owners, fathers,
operators.
These are guys that get stuffdone, but here's what something
that you're never going to hearthem say out loud.
They're not going to say I'mtired man, I'm doing all the
(01:24):
right things, but I feel drained.
My tank's always low and Idon't know why.
Does that sound familiar?
Maybe you're training, you'reworking, you're leading, but
your energy is just gone.
You wake up groggy.
You have mood swings.
Maybe you're short with yourfamily and your workouts just
(01:46):
kind of feel heavy or notexciting.
Your mind feels dull.
Look, that's not weakness,that's burnout.
So let's talk about why highperformers burn out.
And here's what most men getwrong.
They think that burnout comesfrom doing too much, but
(02:09):
actually it comes fromrecovering too little and living
out of alignment.
You know, my weightliftingcoach used to say there's no
such thing as overtraining,there's only under recovery.
And that applies to not onlyweightlifting but also in life.
If you're not giving yourselftime to recover, to regroup,
(02:35):
you're bound to burn out.
And here's the real reasons whyhigh performing men burn out.
Number one maybe you've trainedyourself to ignore the signals.
I know I have right.
The SEAL teams taught me topush through anything pain,
fatigue, exhaustion, what's thatright?
But after the teams, I didn'tneed that 24-7.
(02:58):
I needed to learn how to listen, how to listen to my body, how
to listen to you.
Know how I am mentally energywise.
And then I needed to adjust.
But, like a lot of men, Iconfused numbness with mental
(03:19):
toughness, right, and eventuallyI paid the price.
Number two your body's in fightor flight mode all day long.
You know you're waking up anddiving straight into chaos.
Right, there's no morningroutine, just caffeine and
cortisol.
Let's go, baby, 100 miles anhour.
(03:39):
Give me some coffee?
Right, you finish your day andyou don't power down and instead
it's like it's more stimulation.
You know, with the scrollingemail, netflix, just more noise,
right, you never shift intorecovery mode, so your system
just never resets.
(03:59):
And number three, you're lackingrituals that actually create
energy.
You don't get energy fromtaking time off or taking a
weekend off, or pre-workoutdrink, right, you got to build
it daily and you do that throughgetting good sleep, maybe
(04:21):
practicing breath work, eatingthe right foods right, getting
good nutrition in getting somemovement, in whether it be
weightlifting or cardio, makingsure that your environment
supports, you know, havingenergy and then creating
boundaries, you know, so peoplearen't stealing your time.
(04:43):
Burnout is what happens whenyou skip that stuff over and
over again.
Right, and you say it's becauseof discipline.
But let me be real.
Discipline is not about pushingharder.
Discipline is about buildingsystems that make you more
(05:04):
effective every day.
So I'm going to share with youhow I rebuilt my energy, you
know, because there was a timewhen I was doing everything
right.
Okay, On the outside I'm stilltraining hard, still working,
still showing up, but inside Iwas fried.
(05:24):
You know I was snapping at mywife, my friends, my kids
falling asleep with my phone inmy hand.
You know I was dragging myselfthrough workouts that used to
excite me, so I stopped tryingto just grind through it, okay,
and I rebuilt my energy, and Idid it with a system.
(05:48):
So let me walk you through whatactually worked for me.
Right, the unshakable energysystem.
Number one morning dominance.
You know my mornings are sacred.
Now, right, I get up early,before the chaos, before my wife
(06:09):
and my kids wake up.
I don't look at my phone rightaway.
I brush my teeth, I weighmyself, shower coffee, 10
minutes of journaling, whetherit be gratitude or brain dump.
Make sure I drink some water,get some light stretching in
before any work, you know, andall of this helps to create
(06:33):
mental clarity before the chaosof the day starts.
Right, your morning routinewill determine your momentum for
the day period.
Number two you got to have dailyenergy checkpoints and every
man needs a system to check inon his energy throughout the day
(06:55):
.
At certain parts of the day,you need to ask yourself did I
eat the right fuel today, youknow?
Was I eating the right foods?
Did I take two to three minutesto relax or maybe breathe?
Did I move with intensity atleast once today?
And a real powerful question tokeep handy and always ask
(07:20):
yourself is how do I want toshow up right now in this
situation?
Right, whether it be at work,coming home, you know, and if
you track it, you're going tosee patterns.
(07:45):
And when you manage your energy,productivity takes care of
itself.
And number three you got topower down with purpose.
You know, personally, I callthis my power down ritual.
You know most guys, they justcollapse into the evening, right
, but the highly effective man,he finishes day with intent,
right, turning screens off.
Maybe it's doing somejournaling, whether it be
gratitude or a review of the daylike what went right today,
(08:09):
what went wrong, what can I dobetter.
And, most importantly, maybeit's taking time to pinpoint the
most important task for thenext day and then you can lay
out tomorrow's plan with thattask as a priority and then prep
your environment for success,whether it be just getting your
(08:31):
clothes ready for that earlymorning workout.
You know, don't give yourselfan option to.
You know, stay in bed.
If you don't control the end ofyour day, you'll never own the
start of the next one, numberfour you got to have an
environment that fuels you.
(08:51):
Energy it's not just internal,it's also environmental.
What's around you Ask yourselfwho am I around?
What kind of content am Iconsuming?
Is my home fueling peace orchaos?
You know, I tell guys all thetime that energy is contagious.
(09:15):
Right, we all know guys thatare either energy suckers or
energy givers.
Right, when somebody walks intothe room and they're an energy
sucker, everybody's just likedamn, he's here.
Right, but if somebody is anenergy giver man, the room
lights up, people are excitedand you want to be like that,
(09:36):
you want to be an energy giver.
You want to walk into a roomand say, hey guys, I'm here,
let's get some stuff done.
You want to guard your energy,like your life depends on it,
because it literally does.
Now, what the community is doing, and inside the Highly
(09:59):
Effective man inner circle, iswe've got men running this
system right now.
They're tracking streaks,whether it be with nutrition,
morning routines, evening powerdown rituals.
They're reclaiming theirmornings, they're reporting
better sleep, better moods, morepresence with their families.
You know, one guy told me, likeJP, I used to rely on energy
(10:24):
drinks all the time and Ihaven't had one in about three
weeks.
Now.
That's what happens when youstop grinding, trying to push
through, and you start buildinga system.
So here's what you got to dothis next week.
Number one take an audit right.
(10:46):
Audit your energy Rate yourselffrom one to 10 in these five
areas.
Number one sleep, nutrition,movement, your environment and
your recovery rituals.
Number two lock in one energyritual each morning and each
(11:10):
night.
Just start, simple, right.
Try to get one thing going dayafter day so that you can build
some momentum.
And number three dude, getaround men who don't accept
burnout as normal.
Surround yourself with peoplewho are getting after it.
(11:30):
That's the difference betweendrifting and dominating.
So if this hit home and you'reready to stop running on fumes,
it's time to rebuild your energythe highly effective man way.
You can DM me energy onInstagram at the highly
(11:51):
effective man, or you can headover to my website,
higherlevelcoachingco, and let'sdial in your system.
Let's get you back to beingunshakable.
You know you're not built toburn out, you're built to lead.
So thanks for tuning in to thehighly effective, effective man
(12:11):
podcast.
Share this with a brother who'sbeen grinding but looks like
they're tired and just barelygetting by.
Leave a review.
And remember you don't fixburnout by resting.
You fix it by rebuilding thesystem that fuels you.
Sharpen the blade, leadyourself first and I'll see you
(12:36):
on the next episode.
Let's go.
Thank you for listening to theHighly Effective man podcast.
If you enjoyed or learnedsomething on this episode, do me
a favor and share this withsomebody who you think needs to
hear it.
And one last thing if you wantto work with me as your coach to
help you get fit, be moreproductive and, in general, just
be the most effective versionof yourself, head over to my
(12:57):
site, higherlevelcoachingco onceagain, that's
higherlevelcoachingco andschedule a call with me there.
Thank you again, let's go.
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