I was so angry with myself recently. I spent an entire weekend suffering aches and pains, exhausted and feeling so, so down. An entire weekend wasted in the flip side of over-exertion at work.
You would think that the burnout mentor would know better, right? Wrong.
We push ourselves because we want to make a difference. We strive to change the world one step at a time. The women I work with are heartfelt, professional corporate women and that is not a contradiction in terms. These are women who are led by their hearts and souls to bring their best work forward.
Those of us who suffer from burnout have gotten into this situation by giving too much without taking for ourselves. That isn’t a situation that changes overnight because it’s who we are as people. We are hard-wired to give and push and not take no for an answer and to think of ourselves last.
So how can it be changed?
There are short-term and long-term fixes to these problems and this is one of the reasons why my flagship programme Burnout Breakthrough takes place over 12 weeks. It is essential to learn the quick fixes to get you out of an emergency, the long term habits that will support your career and the perspective changes that will allow you long-term recovery from burnout.
But occasionally we will slip.
My exhaustion was caused by the best of intentions and I recognized the effects very quickly. The good news is that these days it doesn’t take long to turn it around and my weekend of exhaustion was a blip rather then my everyday experience.
Sometimes you can’t control everything. Sometimes you won’t want to. But by building support structures around you, you can push without breaking. And my biggest take away from this weekend of exhaustion was that whilst it is ok to occasionally fall short of your ideal in achieving something worthwhile, nothing good comes from working yourself into the ground and that makes it ok to put yourself first.
After all, they are your goals to achieve. You have to ensure you are the one to get there in one piece.
Are you ready to beat your burnout for good? Join me in a 12 week programme designed to boost your energy, develop support systems to manage stress long term and kickstart your enthusiasm for your career.