The term “burnt out” really only became popular recently. By popular, I don’t mean it has become a good thing, but rather it has become the norm.
It is almost expected at this point that you are burnt out. In fact, it’s rare to come across someone that is absolutely thriving in all areas of life.
Why, though? Why has a life of joy and energy become so hard to find? I know from personal experience that burnout is very real and it will consume your ability to do anything.
This level of exhaustion goes beyond just being tired. It causes your brain to become cloudy and your judgment skewed. Sadly, I think many of us know this feeling all too well.
Related Book: Leading on Empty by Wayne Corderio
Instead of being content to sit with our burnout, what are some things we can do to address the problem? How can we bring the joy back into our lives?
You need to find true rest.
I’m convinced that one of the reasons burnout has become popular recently is due to the fact that people think binging Netflix is a form of rest – and by people I mean me. I am people.
At some points throughout my week, there is nothing I would like to do more than finish the task at hand as soon as possible just so I can maximize my time in front of the TV. It’s easy, and it brings a lot of comfort (especially with good food to go along with it).
Yet, we are just putting off the very thing that we need in order to combat burnout – true rest.
As a Christian, we know that true rest comes from Jesus alone (John 15). Abiding in Jesus is the only way to stay tethered to our faith, and to drink from the living well that never runs dry.
True rest also looks like something that makes you feel accomplished. Cleaning your kitchen may not seem like rest, but the feeling you get after it’s done is unmatched. In order to rest, it requires you to stop doing what is natural to you.
Get out of your routine.
This point is a continuation of the last one – that rest requires you to stop doing what is natural to you. If you are always in the routine, it loses its impact and becomes stale. This feeling also leads to burnout.
I am a person of routine: I like to go to bed early, wake up early, have the same cup of coffee, workout at the same time, and eat the same things on a daily basis. Therefore, I know what it feels like to want to be tethered to a routine.
Everyone has a routine, whether it is as cut and dry as mine or not. Getting out of your routine is uncomfortable and it surely is not what we think about when we consider true rest.
Burnout requires something to change. If nothing changes then nothing will change. This seems easy in theory, but many of us hope that hopefully it will just pass in time.
Nope. It will only get worse – until you change something.
It doesn’t always need to be a vacation or even time off from work. You can help your burnout by saying yes to different opportunities at work, whether that be training a new teammate or doing something outside of your job description. Engage your brain in a different way than you’re used to.
Share your solutions, not just your problems.
It is SO easy to become a complainer when you are experiencing the anxiety of burnout. Problems seem to become multiplied, and things that maybe didn’t seem big at one point are now the end of the world.
Focusing on your problems means that problems are all you will see.
If you become a solutions-based communicator, though, it will force you to look past the immediate hardship in front of you and get creative.
Related Book: Thinking for a Change by John C. Maxwell
Leaders don’t typically respond well to the person who constantly brings up problems but never any solutions. There’s not much credibility or drive behind that. The conversation becomes a lot different when the person can bring both a problem AND a solution into it.
I want to be clear, though. You are not a problem to be solved.
Burnout is very real, and the consequences are life altering. You are, however, responsible to focus on changing something.
Implementing new habits can be hard, though. See 3 Unique Habits That Will Change Your Life for more inspiration.
Burnout is never fun but it doesn’t need to last forever. It does, though, require something to change. Whether that be a habit in your life, the people you surround yourself with, your job, or even your state. Sometimes it doesn’t need to be a life changing switch, though. It could be truly finding rest in things that make you feel accomplished.
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