Why “Personal Branding” Is Exhausting Everyone
It used to be enough to be good at what you do.
Now? You also need a brand.
Not just for entrepreneurs, influencers, or public figures, but for almost everyone.
Students. Employees. Even people quietly building careers behind the scenes.
“Build your brand,” they say.
“Show your personality online.”
“Post your wins. Share your values. Curate your story.”
At first, it sounds empowering.
Until it starts to feel… exhausting.
When Personal Branding Becomes Personal Pressure
The original idea behind personal branding was simple:
Highlight your strengths. Stand out in a crowded market.
But somewhere along the way, it turned into a quiet race:
- Curate every post carefully
- Craft a narrative out of normal days
- Stay visible, stay relevant, stay growing
Suddenly, even existing online starts to feel strategic.
Rest days feel like missed opportunities.
Normal achievements seem too small to share.
It’s not just tiring — it’s dehumanising.
You’re not a product. You’re a person.
The LinkedIn Effect
Nowhere is this more visible than on LinkedIn.
Scroll for five minutes and you’ll find it:
- “Excited to announce…”
- “Humbled to share…”
- “Grateful for this opportunity…”
It’s not fake (sometimes it is), it’s formulaic.
Because that’s what the system rewards: polished updates, structured milestones, strategic vulnerability.
And while building visibility can be smart, the constant pressure to narrate every step of your life?
That’s a recipe for burnout, not success.
🔁 You’re Not Falling Behind — You’re Just Seeing Everyone’s Highlights
Privacy Is Powerful, Too
There’s also another side that rarely gets enough credit:
Choosing privacy is not a weakness.
Not everyone wants or needs to live visibly online to be valuable.
In fact, according to a report by Harvard Business Review, discreet, low-profile workers are often highly productive, efficient, and deeply trusted within their organisations.
Building quietly, living intentionally, and focusing energy on real growth instead of constant exposure is not only valid, it’s powerful.
Visibility is a tool, not a requirement.
Your pace, your privacy, your impact, they matter, even if no one is “liking” it.
Reclaiming Identity Beyond Branding
You don’t have to disappear offline.
But you can reframe how you approach it:
- Focus on real growth, not constant updates
- Allow yourself seasons of quiet work, not just visible wins
- Share when you want to, not when you feel you must
- Remember that your story is valuable, even if it’s not optimised for an algorithm
Your identity is not a marketing plan.
Your worth isn’t measured in engagement.
The world doesn’t need a polished version of you.
It just needs you, doing what you love, even when it’s invisible for a while.
Personal branding was meant to help people tell their stories.
Not to make them feel trapped in their own performance.
Real success doesn’t always look shareable.
And real growth often happens far away from the timeline.