Are You Running on Empty? Five Questions That Can Change How You Think About Health

At PLACE, one of the benefits we enjoy is learning from some of the best coaches and thought leaders in the world. Each month, we participate in coaching sessions with Brendon Burchard, New York Times bestselling author and one of the most recognized high-performance coaches in the world.

Brendon has coached Olympians, NBA players, NFL athletes, executives, and top-performing professionals across countless industries. Yet during our most recent coaching session, he didn't focus on productivity, leadership, or achievement.

He focused on something far more fundamental: health.

Not health in the traditional sense of diets, gym memberships, or fitness trackers.

Health as a measure of how alive you feel.

Most People Are Sleepwalking Through Life

One of the statements that resonated most with me was his belief that many people are simply sleepwalking through life.

They're showing up. They're checking boxes. They're getting things done.

But they aren't fully awake.

They aren't energized.

They aren't experiencing the sense of aliveness that makes life meaningful.

What surprised me most was hearing him explain that some of the physically fittest people he works with aren't healthy by his definition. They may be in excellent physical condition, but they lack energy, purpose, connection, and engagement.

For Brendon, true health is measured by something deeper than physical fitness.

It's measured by vitality.

The Five Areas of Health

To help us assess our own health, Brendon challenged us to rate ourselves on a scale from 1 to 10 in five categories.

1. Awakeness

How present are you in your daily life?

Are you fully engaged in conversations, experiences, and moments with the people around you, or are you constantly distracted by what's next?

Many of us spend so much time thinking ahead that we miss what's happening right in front of us.

2. Ambition

How driven have you felt during the last 90 days?

Not how busy you've been.

Not how much you've accomplished.

How connected have you felt to your goals, dreams, and future possibilities?

As Brendon shared:

"When you are unhealthy, ambition is the first thing to go. You detach from your goals and stop feeling the pull."

That idea hit home for many of us. A lack of ambition isn't always a motivation problem. Sometimes it's an energy problem.

3. Assertiveness

Are you showing up with confidence?

Assertiveness isn't about being aggressive. It's about speaking up when necessary, making decisions, and taking ownership of your life rather than allowing circumstances to dictate your direction.

4. Affection

Can you genuinely connect with the people around you?

This category generated a lot of discussion because it reaches beyond relationships.

Brendon explained that when someone struggles to connect authentically with others, that disconnect rarely stays isolated to one area of life. It often influences work, family, friendships, leadership, and overall well-being.

Human connection matters more than we often realize.

5. Amplification

What energy do you bring into a room?

Whether we realize it or not, our energy affects the people around us.

The way we show up influences our families, coworkers, clients, friends, and communities.

Energy is contagious.

The question is: what kind of energy are you spreading?

Identify the Lowest Score

After scoring yourself in all five areas, Brendon suggested focusing on your lowest category.

Instead of trying to improve everything at once, ask yourself:

• What is causing the most pain in this area?
• What habits or circumstances are contributing to it?
• What would improvement actually look like?
• What is one small step I can take this week?

Sometimes the greatest breakthroughs come from addressing the one area we've been avoiding.

Are You Running a Depletion Strategy?

Perhaps the most eye-opening question from the session was this:

Are you running a depletion strategy?

Brendon compared it to driving a car that is constantly low on gas.

The vehicle still moves.

You still get where you're going.

But you're never fully fueled.

Many people operate this way every day.

They push through exhaustion.

They sacrifice sleep.

They skip movement.

They neglect recovery.

Then they wonder why they feel disconnected, overwhelmed, or burned out.

Burnout rarely happens overnight.

More often, it's the result of chronic depletion.

Look Back at the Last 72 Hours

To determine whether you're running a depletion strategy, Brendon challenged us to review the last three days.

Ask yourself:

• Did I get enough sleep?
• Did I move my body consistently?
• Did I fuel myself with foods that support my energy?
• Did I take meaningful breaks?
• Did I create space to recover, or did I simply push through?

The answers often reveal more than we expect.

A Reminder We All Need

Life moves quickly.

Between work responsibilities, family commitments, community involvement, and everything else competing for our attention, it's easy to spend most of our energy reacting rather than intentionally caring for ourselves.

What I appreciated most about this conversation was the reminder that we have more control than we sometimes think.

Health isn't only about avoiding illness.

It's about creating the energy, connection, and vitality needed to fully participate in the life we're building.

Maybe the most valuable question isn't whether you're healthy.

Maybe it's whether you feel alive.

If not, perhaps it's time to refill the tank.

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