Dealing with burnout

Burnout is one of those things that people talk about and people seemingly understand but when you dig deeper, no one can seem to explain what it is. If you've been following some of the new studies, there's a close relation between burnout and depression. But either case, burnout is a state in which you feel a lack of enthusiasm, lack of motivation and a drop in productivity. Whether or not this is a true condition is still being debated by the professionals.

Most people focus on the occupational aspect of burnout and it's true that this is where you will find it most often. But I want us to focus on life as a whole, meaning some of us may experience burnout or burnout-like symptoms in other aspects of our life such as being a parent, being a student or just life in general. I think thinking of it holistically is very important because life isn't just about work. Rather, work is a part of life as a whole.

Often times, the path to burnout is not so much about the work that's being done or the situations in life leading up to it but that there isn't enough rest and balance in life. Without the rest that your body, mind and soul desperately needs, you will eventually run yourself to the ground via exhaustion. Some people call this burnout, some call it running yourself into a rut and some just see it as life and that you just need to get over it. This lack of rest is a tell-tale symptom of imbalance in life. Imbalance often starts with the mis-allocation of our life's resources, our energy, or our time toward something, which then becomes overdrive and suffocates our own ability to reassess, rest and balance life.

The cost of imbalance is devastating. The fact that you are continually mis-focusing your energy, time, relationships and resources will impact your life whether you admit it or not. Or more like we are so used to it that we don't know what being healthy and balanced is anymore. It will put strains on your relationships, your family, your job and your work. It will affect your physical and mental health. It will affect your inner soul, your spirit and your spirituality.

This continuation of mis-focus or imbalance will eventually break you. Why do you think mental illness, depression and anxiety is at an all time high? It's because with the nonstop world around us, we haven't had a chance to just step back and take a break anymore, refocus and maintain balance. With the increased demand of our attention and the demand of an instantaneous response, we have forgotten how to wait, be still and just listen to the world around us.

Stepping away from it all is imperative for your health and mine. I have seen the edge of the cliff, I have seen the depth of the cliff, and I have seen it in others. Sometimes, we are so used to performing that we lose sight of what we are working toward. Other times, we have invested so much into something that we can't see anything else. And I'm not just talking about work as in occupation but also about the other aspects of life - being a parent, being a spouse, being a friend, etc. We all work toward something but when it becomes imbalanced, you walk a fine line.

You can't do any of that without taking a step back. You need it. Your family needs it from you. Your work needs it for you to perform optimally. And those around you need it from you to help maintain a healthy relationship.

Stepping back is hard. It's an intentional time. A time to take a mental break. A time to take a physical break. A time for your soul, mind and body to catch up again. What this break looks like will be different for everybody. Some just need a hobby. Some just need sleep. Some just need quiet. It is different and very personal.

But the fact of the matter is, whether you are on the road to burnout or not or whether you believe in burnout or not, you need balance in life. And balance in life is only achievable if we are intentional in what we are doing.

What does living intentionally look like?

1. Learn to say no and yes based on your priorities and abilities.


2. Learn what fuels you and what drains you. Make sure you are balanced.


3. Learn to listen to your soul and your body. Sometimes, it knows us better in terms of what we need to rebalance.


4. And most importantly for me, learn from and lean on your relationship with God and allow that to overflow to the rest of your life. With God as the source and center of your life, you can trust that you will never be depleted nor imbalanced.

An article of interest pertaining to using and finding intentional rest and space in life is HERE.