Have you ever wondered “Why do I feel the same after changing jobs?” You’ve made big changes, adjusted how you work, done the inner work, and it all helped, for a while.
But the feeling came back. Same heaviness, different circumstances.
For high-achieving leaders, this cycle rarely looks like failure from the outside. You’re still showing up, still performing, still trying to make it better. But no matter what you change, you keep landing in the same place.
In this episode, Blake breaks down why the changes you keep making aren’t solving the problem, and what’s actually driving the pattern.
After recognizing that something feels off, most high-performing leaders do what they’ve always done—they try to fix it. They change roles, take on new projects, adjust how they work, or push through with the belief that things will eventually improve. And sometimes, those changes do create relief… temporarily.
But the reason the feeling keeps coming back isn’t because you haven’t tried hard enough. It’s because the problem you’re trying to solve isn’t the one actually creating the experience. This is where many leaders unknowingly get stuck—solving for what’s visible on the surface, while the deeper pattern driving it remains unchanged.
This is why you can find yourself asking, “Why do I feel stuck even after trying everything?” or “Why does success still feel empty even when I change things?” The answer isn’t in doing more, pushing harder, or finding the perfect role—it’s in understanding why those changes don’t create lasting fulfillment.
In this episode, we begin to shift that understanding. Not by giving you a quick fix—but by helping you see why what you’ve been doing hasn’t worked, and what that reveals about what’s actually going on underneath it.
In This Episode, You’ll Discover
- Why you feel stuck even after trying everything to fix it
- Why changing jobs or environments creates only temporary relief
- How high performers unknowingly repeat the same patterns
- Why trying harder reinforces the wrong solution
- What causes the same heaviness to return in different circumstances
- Why surface-level changes don’t create lasting fulfillment
- How misdiagnosing the problem keeps leaders stuck longer
- Why success can still feel empty after making “smart” changes
- What it means to solve the wrong problem repeatedly
- How understanding the deeper pattern changes everything
Episode Highlights
The Cycle That Keeps Repeating
[01:10] – Why change creates relief, but not lasting results
[02:05] – How progress can feel real and still leave you back at square one
The Misdiagnosis That Keeps You Stuck
[03:00] – Why we assume it’s the job, the role, or the situation
[03:45] – How trying harder actually reinforces the wrong solution
[04:30] – Why every time the pattern repeats, it gets a little heavier
Why Nothing You’ve Tried Has Fixed It
[05:10] – The difference between surface changes and what’s actually driving the experience
[05:50] – What it means to solve a problem from the same place it’s being created
Powerful Quotes
“You’re solving the wrong problem. You’re trying to fix what’s happening on the surface… but what’s actually driving that experience hasn’t changed.” — Blake Schofield
“You can do everything right. You can make the smart decisions, take the right steps, follow the right path — and still end up feeling like something isn’t working.” — Blake Schofield
“If the thing you’re trying to fix isn’t actually the problem, then no amount of changes are going to solve it.” — Blake Schofield
Resources Mentioned
Let’s explore what’s possible for your team: If your company is investing in burnout, wellness or adaptability initiatives, but seeing rising burnout, disengagement, or retention risk, it may be time to address the root cause.
We identify & diagnose organizational risk – surfacing the key drivers of burnout, leadership capacity and adaptability strains impacting your team; reduce leadership attrition, disengagement and preventable turnover; equip your leaders with the skills to increase their productivity & lead effectively during pressure and uncertainty.
👉 Explore Workshops, Leadership Capacity Risk Assessments, Leadership Development or Consulting at https://impactwithease.com/corporate-training-consulting/
Executive Coaching: For founders, executives, and senior leaders who are successful but feeling drained, stagnant, or uncertain about their next step. Whether you’re burned out, standing at a crossroads, or simply know you’re meant for more—you don’t have to figure it out alone.
👉 Go to impactwithease.com/coaching to apply!
Discover what is driving your burnout: In just 5 minutes, learn your unique burnout type™ & how to restore your energy, fulfillment & peace at www.impactwithease.com/burnout-type
Transcript
Blake Schofield (00:03.598)
Real leadership. Real life. Real impact. No more choosing between your career and your life.
Here you’ll find honest conversations, science-backed strategies, and inspiring stories to help you thrive at work and truly enjoy your life outside of it.
I’m your host Blake, and I’m honored to help you create more impact with ease.
Blake Schofield (00:37.174)
If you listened to the last episode, you might have had the reaction of, yeah, that’s exactly how it feels.
And when I’ve shared this story, for a lot of people that’s the very first time they realize this isn’t just them.
And usually right after that comes the next question. Okay, so then why does this keep happening?
Because if you’re in that place, you’re not doing nothing. You are trying to make it better.
You are changing roles, taking on new projects, looking for something that feels more aligned and more meaningful. And if you’re a business owner, it’s new ideas, new offers, new directions, trying to find the thing that finally clicks.
You try to improve how you’re working, your productivity, your performance, maybe managing your time better.
And you might go deeper too. Therapy, coaching, trying to understand what’s going on.
And for a while, it feels like it’s working because there is some relief. You feel a little lighter, a little clearer, and a little more hopeful.
And then several months pass and you find yourself back in the same place again. The same feeling, but different circumstances.
And that’s the part that doesn’t make sense. Because if you’re someone who figures things out, you’ve figured everything else out in your life, so why does this keep happening?
And this is where most of us misdiagnose the problem.
Blake Schofield (02:12.204)
We assume it’s the job, the company, the role, the situation. Or maybe it’s me. Maybe I just need to be better, push through, be more grateful.
I mean, I need to handle it differently or somehow just figure out how to make it work.
And so when you keep trying to change things and those changes create some relief, it reinforces the idea that you’re on the right track.
But the reason it doesn’t last is because you’re solving the wrong problem.
You’re trying to fix what’s happening on the surface. What the role looks like, what your day looks like, what you’re working on and how you’re doing it.
But what’s actually driving that experience hasn’t changed.
So the pattern repeats, and every time it repeats, it gets a little heavier.
Not all at once, but over time. Because you keep putting in the effort, keep trying to make it better, and you’re not getting the result that you expected.
So you carry a little more frustration, more pressure, and more doubt.
And you don’t always notice it happening because you’ve gotten so used to it. Sort of like the frog in boiling water.
That’s why it can feel like, quote unquote, it’s not that bad, while at the same time it is absolutely taking more out of you than it should.
And here’s what most people don’t see. They think if I could just find the right role or work, if I could just make the right next move, if I could just figure this out, then I will finally feel how I want to.
But if the thing you’re trying to fix isn’t actually the problem, then no amount of changes are going to solve it.
Blake Schofield (04:07.468)
And this is why you can do everything right. You can make the smart decisions, take the right steps, follow the right path, and still end up feeling like something isn’t working, something is off.
Not because you’re doing it wrong, but because you’ve been trying to solve it from the same place it’s being created.
And once you start to see that, things begin to make more sense. Not all at once, but enough to realize that this isn’t random. There’s a reason this keeps happening.
And in next week’s episode, you’re going to hear a real-life example of this. Someone who did everything right, who had the experience, the knowledge, and the capability, and still found herself in this exact pattern.
And what actually shifted for her.
Because once you can see it in someone else, you can begin to understand your journey in a way that starts to create some space and opportunity for something new.
Most successful people don’t realize they’re in burnout because stress and exhaustion have become so normalized.
But burnout is actually a sign of deeper misalignment between how you’re wired to thrive and how you’re actually working and living.
Fix the misalignment and everything changes.
Take the free quiz at www.impactwithease.com/burnout-type.com to discover your burnout type and get next steps to reclaim your energy, lead with confidence, and create more ease in your life and career.
