Every one of us has experienced some form of burnout. In today’s rapid paced world, it would seem that more than ever we’re stressed. Who hasn’t tried to fit one more thing into their day? Even while doing what we love, we can experience burnout. My first episode with burnout hit me square between the eyes in my early twenties after I blacked-out cold in a grocery store during their grand opening. I had gone to the store to buy something for my queasy stomach. I selected three big chocolate chip cookies for a dollar and some Pepto Bismol tablets and, the next thing I knew, I had interrupted a grand drawing for a brand-new Chevrolet Impala as a sweet, little old lady screamed and hundreds of customers gathered around to see what the fuss was about. I still remember coming to on the cement floor while strangers were speculating about my condition. “Probably on drugs,” one woman said. “Maybe he won the car and fainted,” said another.
Back then I was working two full-time jobs, three if you count my side hustle. I had been training for three months for the television program, “Dance Fever” and two other industry competitions. Every spare moment I had between my jobs was dedicated to building props, choreography, hiring dancers, creating costumes, raising money, gaining sponsors and endless rehearsals into the wee hours of the morning. Though I was exhausted, I loved these activities and I looked forward to pushing beyond my insecurities with each upcoming competition. I guess I figured I’d have time to sleep when I got old! Now as the time to seize the day. Carpe diem, and all that jazz.
Can you say, “Fosse!”
What I didn’t realize at the time, was that I was exerting three times more energy out, than I had coming back in. I slept less and worked more. I rested less and pushed ahead, often exhausted. I continued my daily routines. I wasn’t doing anything to replenish my body, mind or spirit. After months of expending enormous energy and ignoring the messages and symptoms that my inner guidance system was trying to communicate with me about my health, I reaped the consequences of my actions, blacked out on a grocery store floor in the express lane. My body finally said, “No mas.” It had nothing left to give.
THE CURSE OF BURNOUT
It’s hard to see the blessing in burnout when we’re standing in the middle of it, and even harder to hear the wisdom of our inner guidance systems speaking to us. Since my supermarket blackout I’ve learned to spot the early symptoms of burnout. I also researched its origin. Herbert J. Freudenberger Ph.D., coined the phrase “burnout.” He defined it as “a state of fatigue or frustration brought about by a devotion to a cause, a way of life, or a relationship that failed to produce the expected reward.”
You might not be surprised to know that some symptoms associated with burnout are: over nurturing others, isolation, being in denial, worrying, anxiety, over intensity, over-working and an inability to say no.
Our intuition is always steering us in the direction of wellness. As this intuition whispers sweetly to us, we are often too busy to hear or sense its valuable guidance. The very focus and dedication that success is built on, taken too far can steer us right into Burnout-ville.
Empathetic and giving people often fall into the burnout abyss because they have an innate instinct to nurture others before caring for themselves, they say yes when they want to say no, and mistake their habit of worrying about others as a form of love.
The curse of burnout is that if it goes undetected we can literally end up in the hospital. The blessing of burnout is that it is a form of consciousness. The thought bank of burnout is indeed whispering guidance to us. Mine’s saying “Eddie, take a nap bitch.” Yours might be calling for you to take some action; relax a bit more, or get organized today so that you don’t blow that important meeting tomorrow. How many times have you received these butterfly-like messages cheering you back into alignment, only to ignore them because you’re too busy to slow down? Or no one can do your job as well as you can? Or any number of other reasons? Maybe you’d like to take a moment right now, just pause from reading this article to ask your body, “Is there anything that you need in order to be at your best, balanced, healthy self?” You will get an answer. You might hear, give me a multivitamin, or go to bed a half-hour earlier. You could hear specific advice about your relationship, job or other activities.
THINK OF BURNOUT AS A FRIEND
For me burnout is another fancy word for the Big BUT Syndrome. Burnout and the Big BUT Syndrome are the same, in that we are accidentally self-sabotaging our desired outcomes with low frequency attitudes and emotions.
Burnout starts from the inside first, before grabbing hold of our productivity or positive momentum. If we listen to the message the infant stages of burnout are gifting us with, and pay attention to its subtitles now, the price we pay later is less severe. Wouldn’t you rather take a nap or meditate today instead of pushing beyond your fatigue and frustration and then end up in the hospital? Of course, we say “Yes, I’d rather take the nap, BUT who will get the work done if I don’t do it myself?” We seem to automatically fall into the abyss of self-sabotage, a.k.a. burnout.
Think of burnout as a friend. Listen to it. How many good friends do you have that gingerly chide you to get more rest, or to take that much needed vacation? Burnout is just such a friend. The consciousness of burnout doesn’t want to take your hard work or your life and ruin it. It wants to keep you on your game, to be alert to your health and to assist you to be and do everything you wish.
Make a pact with yourself that you will listen to your inner guidance system and that you will gladly follow your intuition. That is how burnout communicates with us before disaster strikes. When you feel fatigued, love yourself enough to rest and when you get frustrated about something that you care about, change your expectations to allow for disappointment. When things don’t go the way you had hoped, you have a chance to dream up something new! Learn to savor all of life’s moments and for goodness sake, stop to smell the roses. Literally.
With Appreciation Always,
