Draging Yourself Back From Burnout to Burning Bright

It is true that even when exhausted you still are providing something to those you serve. But you are out of touch with your deepest strengths, role-modelling self-destructive behaviour, martyring yourself, and giving others cause for guilt.
― Elaine N. Aron

We all know how is it to just ‘give up!’ It’s easy to just say I’m done, and stay down when life knocks you down. That comfort zone of despair feels so much better than facing what knocked you down, that thing that brought you to your proverbial knees. That loss, that heartbreak, the exhaustion of trying to get by, the disappointments! Any and all of these things can knock you off your feet, and beat you down so hard you don’t know if you’ll ever get back up. But as hard as it may seem to find the strength to move on, you have to. So often folk decide to stay down, they feel safe in that comfort zone. The heartbreak of a relationship ending, you wallow in self-pity and that comfort zone seems safe. You lose your job, you’re definitely in a tailspin because you’ve given your dedication to it and now it’s gone and you wonder ‘how I can come back from this?’ The anxiety of the future can be crippling. The exhaustion of just surviving it all leads to BURN OUT! I know you’re tired! I know you’re afraid! I know the uncertainty of it all can be crippling!

Then there are those thoughts that may come to your mind, why me? What did I do to deserve this? How can I move past this? Life is for the living! As long as you have breath in your body and an ounce of will, you can get past anything. All you need is the determination to make it happen. There’s always another job, you just have to look for it and I truly believe, ‘that which we as seek is also seeking us.’ A relationship ends, there is always someone else out there for you if that’s what you’re looking for. Don’t worry about the future, you’re not there yet. It seems that we can spend our entire lives worrying about one thing or another, building fatigue and anxiety in our bodies. When my daughters were younger, I envied their innocent minds. Their only stress was, what we were going to do that morning, go to the beach or take a drive somewhere. Then during their school days, their minds were on getting to school the next day to see their friends. That’s the magic and innocence of youth.

To drag yourself back from burnout to burning bright, like everything else in life, sadness, anger, or anxiety, you have to identify the cause of you. What is the root cause of your burnout? Find that thing that is creating such huge demands on your life, it’s literally sucking the life out of you. If you’re tired, you can take a nap or get a good night’s sleep to recharge. You need more than sleep to come back from burnout. You need to give attention to your mind and body in order to dig yourself out of the burnout which can leave you feeling like life is crushing and feeling powerless.

Pause- reflect on what happened, accept the things you can’t change and ignore the rest. Pause for reflection, rejuvenation and reevaluating your boundaries.
Playback everything that will be required of you to move past everything that led to your burnout.
Self-Compassion, you’re not a failure. Remind yourself that no one is perfect and you don’t have to be. Look back at everything you’ve done, and be proud of yourself.
Consider all the things that offer value to you. Take charge of your physical and mental health, and don’t fall into the pity part.

You may not have the power to change everything in your life but you do have the power to control how they affect you.