How To Avoid Burnout On Your Way To Success
Burnout out is such a buzzword these days right? It is also a very real thing and if you don’t catch it in time can be very detrimental!
As a high functioning individual burnout is a very easy thing to fall into, but I will work and work and work. I know some of you reading this will relate. So how do you know that you could be on the way to suffering from Burnout?
Your mind is in overdrive, your heart is beating hard in your chest and you probably feel exhausted! Too exhausted to do anything, including the most simple of things. Other signs will include not finding the joy in things any more and feeling in a constant state of worry.
Most people assume burnout out hits you out of the blue, but in fact it is a combination of things over time that creep up on you that can cause it from day to day pressures or stress.
So what is the difference between pressure and stress? Pressure is a good thing, it can push you forward and help you create some great results. When pressure turns into stress this is where it can cause damage. Stress is when a situation leans more towards impossible because of a lack of resources to meet the demand. So many of us are guilty about putting too much on our plate because working hard ‘under pressure’ is like a badge of honour, however this is one of the main causes of burnout. When the body feels stress it goes into fight or flight mode which releases chemicals in the body to prepare it for action. This is not healthy and can also be addictive to a high achiever.
Recognising it and having awareness over behaviours is the first step to avoiding it. That awareness and emotional intelligence can relieve stress because it’s the ability to manage your own emotions. Being self-aware will help you to recognise how you are feeling and understand what you need to avoid stress and burnout.
Practical changes you can make would be first to look at what you can take away from your life. So often we focus on what we should add to our lives to improve it, but it is not so much that.
Taking a step back from high pressured tasks and overwhelming responsibilities will create breathing space to see things more clearly. To get the body out of fight or flight mode. Once you have taken these things away, then you can look at what you can do to create a sense of balance like scheduling in days off, booking in spa days, taking a well needed holiday, delegating tasks to other people, having a digital detox. It all helps in creating more calm in your world.