The Distance Between Success & Satisfaction: Unpacking the Quiet Burnout of High Achievers Series - Part 1

by Dr. Bryanna Campbell

Part 1: Sometimes Success Doesn't Feel Good. Why is That?

Success Isn’t the Whole Story

Welcome to the “The Distance Between Success & Satisfaction” series—a 4-part exploration of what happens when you’ve done everything “right,” but still feel disconnected, numb, or unfulfilled. Designed for high-achieving women—especially millennial Black women navigating quiet burnout—this series offers clarity, compassion, and a way forward.

You earned the degrees and certificates. You got the job. You got the promotion. You started your business. You have a full calendar filled with color-coded events and tasks. Somehow you still feel empty. Why is that?

You did what you were supposed to do. You followed the directions that were supposed to bring you success AND fulfillment. From the outside it seems like you “made it.” And yet, there's a quiet (and sometimes loud) ache—an unsettling discrepancy between the life you're experiencing and how you actually feel on the inside.

You're not alone. I can assure you you’re not. 

For many of us—especially Black women—success has often been discussed as the result of being resilient, as well as a vehicle for upward mobility and a sense of freedom. Perhaps you've heard it like this: if you work hard, stay focused, and navigate any obstacles in your way, you’ll live a life of peace and fulfillment.

Hmm, makes sense right? But what happens when you get there... and peace doesn’t come? I mean, you and peace have never met, never been introduced, just fully unacquainted. 

The Unspoken Disconnect

I’ve worked with many people who have shared that sometimes achievement can feel like a trap to them. How is it that you can arrive at each achievement and still feel numb, lost, or even resentful? How can you have the titles, the accolades, the respect, and still feel like something essential is missing? How stressful it is to realize that you don’t know what that “something” is that’s missing?

Success is often made synonymous with fulfillment. What if they aren’t the same thing? How do you define success and fulfillment for yourself? In what ways do you seek meaning, connection, and alignment?

They aren’t things you can earn by hustling more or harder.

Why This Can Hit High-Achievers Hard

Have you always been the one people could count on? The responsible one, the high achiever, the one “no one had to worry about”, the one who “makes it out?” When you reflect on some of these roles and/or identities is it possible that you’ve learned, either explicitly or implicitly, that your worth comes from your performance? That your job is to succeed? To represent your family/community/home country/race well? To make everyone proud? That you are the one who will change the trajectory of what’s possible for those alongside you and after you? That’s A LOT of pressure. 

Who prepares you for what to do if success still leaves you feeling empty?

This blog series is here to name this experience and normalize it—not as failure, but as a turning point. An opportunity to take a voyage within yourself and truly examine your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs about what this means to you. 

There is nothing inherently wrong with you. You’re not broken. You’re likely encountering a truth that many people eventually face:

Success doesn’t guarantee fulfillment. And it never will.

Your reflection and journal questions: 

How have I been taught to view, define, and experience success? Who and where did these ideas come from and what maintains them? What is my personal definition of success, and what is it influenced by?

Coming Up Next:

In the next part of this series, we’ll discuss how and why the idea of “never wasting or squandering your potential” might be wearing you down more than you realize—and what you can do about it.

Till next time.