That's an excellent point. I can feel burnout creeping in not because I'm pushing to achieve but just because of the stress required to tread water.

you could reframe the situation and say you are 'treading water' in a position that requires constant 'achievements' whereas if you found an easier job, treading-water wouldn't be hard

There are a lot of unfortunate combinations. Trying to achieve in an obedience-oriented system causes depression, I'm convinced, whereas simple obedience can lead to a fairly stress-free life. In a company I'm familiar with that transitioned quickly from a nimble startup that rewarded high achievers to a bureaucratic beast that saw ICs as chess pieces to be moved around by managers, the early ICs who stayed and kept trying to achieve were afflicted with depression, anxiety, feelings of being gaslighted, and simultaneous contempt for and jealousy of "lazy" newer ICs who understood the new nature of the company and enjoyed comfortable and predictable employment.

Burnout also isn't limited to work, I got it from school.

Just because you pay for the privilege, doesn’t mean it’s not a job.

I've seen people burn out on volunteer work. Lots of institutions are carefully calibrated to extract as much effort from their constituents as the costs allow.

You can get burned out at free public schools. Here in Argentina the best university is free and open to everyone -- and believe me, you can get very stressed because it's also very demanding.

Ding