Photo by Janko Ferlič on Unsplash
So you're burned out. Now what?
Many of us, including myself, have been burned out more than once in our lives. You might be in a burn-out state right now. I know I was a few years ago and that led to my 369 days of worse-case scenarios. More on that later.
Harvard Business Review recently posted an article about how to recover from burn. Some highlights from the article that are spot on are specifically the fact that when you're burned out, you need to figure out a way how to feel because continuing down that path that got you to a burn-out state is not going to heal you. You have to figure out a way on how to get back to your new normal, whatever that may be.
Also, if that burn-out was caused by your employer or people or other things, they don't have the permission to keep you in that state. You have a choice. You can get out of that state. It's gonna take time. It's just like getting to a burn-out state did not happen overnight. Healing from it's not gonna heal you overnight either. It's gonna take some time.
One of the things that jumps out from that article is, Jason Fried, the co-founder and CEO of Base Camp, recently said in an interview, "Just because a company pays you doesn't mean that they own you." And that's the case for family members, loved ones, friends, colleagues, employers, clients. They may pay you, they may serve you, they may help you. They don't own you. So you have to figure out a way to get back.
One of the things about burn-out that jumps out, and it was well put in this article, is you need to get back to control. You have to control your life. You're the only one that can control your life. If you give that control up, then you are going to be the victim to whatever happens to you. You have to keep control. You have to take it back if it's been taken from you. How do you go about doing that? Boundaries. I talk about it all the time. Why? Because, in my 369 days, I didn't have any boundaries and it cost me everything. And now, I've rebuilt my life. I've reinvented myself, and I don't want that to happen to you.
I wanna talk to you further about establishing boundaries in your personal life, in your work life, and how to go about it. It's not an easy thing to do, but it's something that I've done, and I've implemented and others have implemented. It's made transformational change in their life and how they approach everything.
Tomorrow I'll share a little bit more about that. Take time to read the article I refer to so you get a better understanding and you can relate if you're definitely feeling burned out on this particular day. Hopefully, you can get past it and we can work together to heal you.
'Til next time, be well.