As intelligent individuals we all know what to do to prevent burn out – we need to rest, decompress, take time for our own selfcare and have balance in our lives.
WHAT to do is the easy bit. You’ve read those articles that tell you to sleep more, eat well, meditate etc – these are all well and good. But the challenge lies in HOW.
How on earth are we supposed to fit in time for ourselves when we have a plethora of responsibilities at home resting on our shoulders and a reputation at work to uphold that we have worked so hard to build? And how do I maintain balance long term, rather than trying a new routine that falls by the wayside within days?
How we do this, comes from understanding what is really stopping us: our own unique and personal internal narratives.
The facts
Burnout is prevalent in today’s world.
In 2023, an overwhelming majority of British adults (79%) feel stressed at least once a month and close to half (46%) of the UK's workers are close to burnout*.
And unfortunately, studies have shown the reality that women, as well as those from minority backgrounds, are more likely to suffer from burnout.
In 2021/2022 an estimated 17 million working days were lost due to work-related stress, depression, or anxiety.
Why me?
In my previous fast-paced, high pressure corporate career I would look around and ask myself, “why are others able to cope and find that elusive balance without burning out, yet I can’t?”.
The answer? It was ME that was making me burn out. More specifically, it was what I was telling myself about myself, and how others saw my value, that was making me burn out.
Yes, there are external factors that can exacerbate the speed at which someone susceptible to burnout finds themselves in that horrible place of being unable to cope. But what makes us susceptible are our internal narratives: what we tell ourselves about ourselves, how we “should” or “must” operate and the root of our worth. For example, if (like I used to) you are telling yourself that your worth at work comes from “putting the hours in”, then of course it is a huge challenge to bring yourself to take hours out of the working day to make time for yourself, and still feel you are making strides in the career that is so important to you.
Every one of us has our own set of narratives, based on our personality traits and our individual experiences. Every road to burn out is unique and personal. So too is the journey to beating it. But for almost all of us, changing the way we talk to ourselves is a critical step in that journey to creating, and importantly, maintaining balance in the long term without feelings of guilt and sacrifice.
It might sound scary that you, yourself, hold the key to tackling your burnout. But what about reframing that into the empowering knowledge that the answer does not involve waiting around for your boss to learn to not overload you or for your clients to expect less from you (which may never happen)? YOU can take control and banish burnout for yourself FOR GOOD.
How can I beat burnout?
So HOW can you start yourself on journey to beating burnout and finding balance?
Consider the elements of your personality that might make you susceptible to burnout (e.g. perfectionism, people-pleasing tendencies)
Identify the internal narratives that are the barriers to you creating balance:
Explore alternative truths, that sit right and feel good; and
Build unstoppable confidence in these alternatives that empower you to set the guilt-free boundaries you need, without sacrificing the success you have built or your wellbeing.
If you need some support in identifying and unpicking these narratives and building that unstoppable confidence, so you can find that balance and beat burn out once and for all, then book a free exploration call today.
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