What I love about burnout

I used to hate the holidays.

I worked the day before Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving, the day before Christmas Eve, and the day after Christmas. My partner’s schedule wasn’t much better.

By the time I survived the holidays (also how it felt), I was burnt out. I didn't care about anything I needed to do at work. There was the burnout - and then there were my thoughts piled on top of my burnout. I was in leadership roles. I couldn’t be burnt out. My team needed me to not be burnt out. Burnout became a problem I had to hide and solve, as quickly as possible.

I don't feel that way anymore. Here’s why.

Burnout is the result of forcing yourself to do something you don’t want to do, over and over again, until you can no longer do it.

Burnout is the result of forcing yourself to do something you don't want to do, over and over again, until you can no longer do it. The only way out is to stop forcing yourself to do things you hate doing. Burnout is how the soul and the body team up to put an end to your mind’s bullshit.

It will feel hard to stop doing the things you hate doing because you'll think you have to do them.

That's what makes burnout such a gift. Burnout doesn't care that you think you need your job for stability, if your job is no longer right for you–burnout will let you know. It doesn't matter that you think you need to say yes to that invitation because of how your friend might react, burnout will make it hard for you to stand up to get dressed for the party.

You can’t push through burnout. You can’t out-think it, out-nap it, or out-maneuver it. Gentle, honest inquiry is the only way out.

What have you been forcing yourself to do that you know, in your heart, you don’t want to do?

Burnout forces us to ask: what have I been forcing myself to do that I know isn't right for me? Where do I say ‘yes’ when I mean ‘no’?

That’s the path out.

And that’s what makes burnout a gift. It is the gentle friction that pushes you to do more of what you love – or it can be the stern mother that burns your life down until you get it together. Either way, life as you’ve been living can’t continue.

Wishing you and the people you a love a healthy, happy holiday. I'll talk to you next week.