Intentional Power

6Be Resilient: Because the World Needs You

U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, is no newcomer to the challenges of leadership, but he made headlines when he revealed in a 2023 New York Times op‐ed that he had suffered mental health challenges as a result of loneliness. He wrote, “Loneliness—like depression, with which it can be associated—can chip away at your self‐esteem and erode your sense of who you are. That’s what happened to me.”¹

Ten years ago, heck, even five years ago, you wouldn't have heard people talking openly in a work environment about the feelings of isolation, stress, and the challenges of mental health. Rarely have we heard leaders talking vulnerably about the deep pain of living many of us struggle with each and every day. Yes, it is about mental health, but it's also about work and its role in our lives. The fact that leaders such as Vivek are now sharing their experiences, and doing so without shame and worry that others won't think they are strong and capable, may be the only silver lining from the devastation of the global pandemic and the myriad of other crises that have impacted the workplace in the past number of years.

In his book The End of Burnout; Why Work Drains Us and How to Build Better Lives, Jonathan Malesic argues that we have all bought into a “noble lie” about work, productivity, and self‐worth.² This “noble lie,” according to Jonathan, is the belief that “work is the path to self‐actualization. The ideal that motivates us to work ...