Photo by Zohre Nemati on Unsplash
In the book “Burn-out” by Herbert Freudenberger, Dr. Freudenberger realized in his studies that burnout is robbing our society of high-achievers (both women and men) that society looks up to as leaders and action-takers.
I see many people that are burned out tend to be the Type-A personalities: driven, successful, but also not satisfied with their accomplishments ,so they keep chasing more and more.
This chasing leads to burnout. Burnout feelings often have a dulling and deadness feeling within. Things that used to excite us no longer do. We are often numb to the world.
Sound familiar? Am I talking about you right now?
If you said yes (either out loud, or you whispered to yourself, then you’ve taken a huge step in admitting you have an issue, and you deep down want to fix it.
Now that you have acknowledged that you may be burned out, the next key step is to stop the bleeding.
You need to pause what you’re doing and do a simple breathing exercise for 2 minutes. Not 30, not 45, two minutes.
If you are in a place where you can close your eyes, do so. if not, find a place where you can be safe and without interruption for 2 minutes.
Close your eyes. Breathe in for 4 seconds. Hold your breath for four seconds. Exhale for 4 seconds. Pause for 4 seconds. Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds. Pause for 4 seconds.
Repeat above for 2 minutes. Set an alarm or timer on your phone if you need to.
After this 2 minutes, feel how you feel. My hunch is that you’re a bit more relaxed than before. This is good. This demonstrates that you can unwind a little, and in 2 minutes.
Implement this breath work throughout your day. I recommend at morning, mid-day, and evening before you go to bed. For the bedtime exercise, don’t set an alarm (also don’t have your phone in your bedroom. If you use it for an alarm clock, STOP!)
Burnout is not a failure on your part. You are a driven, giving person and you want the best for others. Unfortunately, you forgot to take care of yourself, first. I get it. I was the same way, then my 369 Days hit, and wow did that cause a ripple effect.
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I help people recover from or prevent burnout in their lives. Register here for my next webinar on going from burnout to your ideal life.