Overperformance, Burnout, and Our Overdependence on Technology
Jul 6, 2026
In this session, Julia Corvalán, Global Operations Manager for the Poverty Stoplight, spoke with Dr. Pippa Grange, performance psychologist, cultural advisor, and author of Life. Reclaimed. The conversation explored how overwork, the pressure to achieve results, and the constant use of technology can distance us from ourselves and affect our ability to work, connect with others, and live sustainably.
Drawing on her experience in elite sports, leadership, and human development, Pippa proposed a different perspective on performance: not as a constant pursuit of results, but as a practice that should allow us to preserve our integrity, authenticity, and capacity for regeneration.
HOW TO REMAIN WHOLE WHILE PURSUING RESULTS
Pippa explained that her work across different countries, organizations, and professional settings has been guided by the same question:
“How do we remain whole while doing what we are passionate about?”
This question became particularly significant in late 2023, when she experienced a period of burnout herself. For a long time, she had continued working, taking on responsibilities, and ignoring her body’s signs of exhaustion.
The experience helped her recognize that overwork was not an individual problem. Many people feel they must continue producing and responding even when everything begins to feel too heavy, because they do not know how to stop without their lives falling apart.
Her book Life. Reclaimed emerged from a desire to identify the patterns that lead to exhaustion and explore how people can recover the ability to live with greater authenticity, strength, and freedom.
PEOPLE ARE NOT BROKEN
One of the session’s central ideas was that people do not need to become entirely new versions of themselves.
Pippa rejected the view of life as a permanent self-improvement project. People may feel exhausted, afraid, or buried beneath too many responsibilities, but this does not mean they are broken or lost.
She referred to the Ghanaian concept of Sankofa, which encourages people to go back and retrieve what has been forgotten. In this sense, reclaiming one’s life means remembering who we are and what resources we already possess.
“It is not about creating a new person, but about returning to our own wholeness.”
People often move forward by following expectations, priorities, or maps created by others. The speed of everyday life can prevent them from noticing when they have stopped following their own direction. Recovery involves pausing, reviewing those narratives, and asking what they want now and what the next step should be, rather than automatically searching for another goal to achieve.
PERFORMANCE AS A PRACTICE, NOT ONLY AN OUTCOME
Julia noted that the contemporary idea of competition is often associated with outperforming others and achieving better results. Pippa explained that something similar has happened to the concept of performance.
A person is often considered to have performed well only when they achieve the expected result. This view reduces performance to a final score and ignores the process.
For Pippa, performance is the daily practice of taking actions that increase the likelihood of achieving a goal. The outcome also depends on circumstances that cannot always be controlled.
“Performance is a practice, not only an outcome.”
This distinction makes it possible to value the quality of the effort, the decisions made, and the way the process unfolds, even when the final result does not match expectations.
It also helps identify when performance becomes a substitute for identity. A person may achieve goals and receive recognition for their work while feeling internally exhausted, fragmented, or disconnected from themselves.
When fulfilling a role requires hiding important parts of one’s identity, behaving rigidly, or maintaining an artificial image, performance begins to take more than it gives. Healthy performance, by contrast, allows people to act with honesty, vulnerability, acceptance, and personal coherence.
REGENERATING WITHIN EVERYDAY LIFE
Pippa questioned the idea that recovery requires moving completely from activity to rest or from speed to slowness.
Drawing inspiration from nature, she explained that living systems operate through rhythms, seasons, and movement between different states. The problem is not necessarily working intensely, but losing the ability to alternate between effort, recovery, silence, conversation, concentration, and openness.
“We do not have to abandon our lives, but we may need to change our methods.”
Many people wait for the weekend, a vacation, or the completion of a project before allowing themselves to breathe. In the meantime, they continue working at the limit of their capacity. Pippa proposed incorporating regeneration into everyday activities rather than waiting for an extended break that may never come.
This may mean getting up from the desk, eating without continuing to work, stretching the body, breathing consciously, or pausing for two minutes to acknowledge one’s current state.
Pippa called these moments psychological firebreaks: small interruptions that prevent tension and exhaustion from accumulating until they cause a larger fire.
RECLAIMING LIFE BEGINS WITHIN
Connecting these ideas with the work of the Poverty Stoplight, Julia noted that families use information to regain decision-making power over their own lives. She asked Pippa where that process of reclaiming begins.
The answer was direct: “It begins within.”
People cannot always immediately control the social, economic, or working conditions they face. However, they can begin by paying attention to their inner landscape: the story they tell about their own worth, the exhaustion they feel, their fears, and the responsibilities they carry.
This process requires self-compassion and honesty. It involves asking whether they are getting enough rest, whether there is space to acknowledge exhaustion, and whether their own needs are given a legitimate place.
It also depends on the quality of relationships. Energy, affection, and the capacity to sustain oneself are regenerated through authentic human connection. Self-care does not mean abandoning responsibilities toward others. It means creating the conditions to continue supporting them without becoming completely depleted.
Pippa used the metaphor of putting on one’s own oxygen mask first. Those who work in social development often give much of their energy to others, but if they do not find ways to renew it, they eventually lose their ability to help.
ATTENTION AS PART OF THE WORK
Julia recalled Simone Weil’s idea that attention is one of the purest forms of generosity and asked whether this capacity is being lost.
Pippa noted that attention has become a contested resource. Screens, messages, responsibilities, and the speed of life constantly compete for it.
For this reason, reclaiming attention requires intention. It is not always possible to have several hours of silence or rest, but even a few minutes can create the space needed to recognize what we are feeling and carrying.
This is especially important in emotionally demanding work. The state of a person’s nervous system directly affects the quality of their conversations and relationships.
In the Poverty Stoplight, every assessment begins with a conversation with a family. The capacity to listen, support, and pay attention also depends on the state of the person facilitating that dialogue.
“You are part of the work.”
Personal care is not separate from professional work. It is a condition that affects the quality, sensitivity, and sustainability of the support being provided.
LIVING WITH QUESTIONS AND LETTING GO OF CERTAINTY
Another topic discussed during the session was the pressure to find quick answers and demonstrate results.
Pippa explained that she has learned to distrust absolute certainty. Certainty can be restrictive because it pushes us to search for definitive answers before taking action.
Reaching an understanding, by contrast, allows us to move forward without assuming that our interpretation will remain permanent. We may understand something today and discover a different perspective later.
“Answers are temporary; questions remain alive.”
This does not mean giving up on answers, but recognizing that they are provisional and must remain open to new information and experience.
For those working in social development, this perspective can reduce the pressure to have definitive solutions to complex problems. It also creates space to learn, change direction, and recognize that impact rarely follows a linear path.
TECHNOLOGY AND HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Although much of the conversation focused on performance and burnout, a question from the audience provided an opportunity to address technological overreliance directly.
Pippa identified two main risks:
Substitutes for human connection: Using artificial intelligence tools as substitutes for companionship, friendship, or human relationships, which offer only a superficial response to deeper needs for connection and belonging.
Adopting the pace of technology: Attempting to match the processing speed of AI, when human beings need time to understand, feel, interpret nuance, and integrate experiences.
“We must learn to become more human, not try to resemble technology.”
The challenge is not to reject digital tools, but to protect what distinguishes us: sensitivity, presence, relationships, imagination, and the ability to create meaning.
Technology should support human life rather than set the pace at which people are expected to work, think, or relate to one another.
THE ROLE OF ART AND POETRY
The conversation included numerous references to art and poetry. Pippa explained that artists often observe the edges, nuances, and layers that may be overlooked by approaches focused primarily on results.
Unlike management models that seek clear answers and finished products, art keeps different possibilities for interpretation open.
Poetry, in particular, can open new doors when someone is trying to understand a situation. It does not necessarily provide an answer, but it can change the way the problem is viewed.
Pippa mentioned that a poem by David Whyte accompanied her throughout the writing of Life. Reclaimed. The session also referred to works by Mary Oliver, Rumi, Rilke, and other authors as sources of reflection on identity, silence, purpose, and recovery.
Art was presented not as a decorative addition, but as a tool for expanding perception and recovering forms of attention that are often diminished by the speed of everyday life.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
How do we remember who we are?
Pippa explained that the process begins with inner care. People working for important causes often devote all their energy to others and neglect their own needs. Remembering who we are requires allowing ourselves to receive care, acknowledge exhaustion, and ensure that our inner lives are consistent with what we offer to the world.How do we put love into practice?
Love in action begins with how a person treats themselves. It is not possible to sustain the care of others indefinitely while continuously draining one’s own energy. This does not require immediate transformation, but rather small acts of nourishment, rest, and acceptance incorporated into everyday routines.How does culture influence overwork?
One participant noted that in some cultural contexts, overwork is interpreted as a sign of success rather than a problem. Pippa acknowledged that performance patterns are deeply connected to social expectations. It is therefore important to consider not only how much we do, but also the cost of that effort and whether it allows us to remain authentic and whole.What is Pippa still reclaiming in her own life?
Pippa clarified that the ideas she shared are also part of her own ongoing practice. She continues learning how to care for herself, trust uncertainty, protect her space, and define her identity beyond the expectations others place upon her.
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You can learn more about the upcoming Cerrito Forum 2026, the annual international global development event that brings together global stakeholders committed to the elimination of poverty from October 12th - 16th by visiting cerrito.com.py.
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