Burn Bright Burn Out.

The theme of the last week or so, in many of my professional circles is burn out. Burn out in various stages, from "my job is meh" to "I am losing my mind!"

I myself have experienced burn out. When I actually think about it, I think every single job I left was because of burn out - although there were various reasons behind it. My first non-profit job, I just couldn't seem to say 'no'. The responsibilities piled on (the pay didn't) and I needed to find something more sustainable. For my pocket book and my life.

Fast-forward to my mid-thirties "awakening" when I (again) couldn't say 'no'. This time clearly seeking approval from my work for validation of my "value" (a big culture word in that organization) - and when I didn't? Crushed.

Today, my colleagues are expressing frustration, anxiety, overwork, stress. The way I experience their burnout is through their communication with me and others. They are quick to defense, they snap, they "have already" thought of/done it/tried it, etc. They are pissed.

So what can we do?

1. Name it. Of course, the first step is realizing there is a problem :) And only you can do that for you. If you are reading this, there's a good chance you know something is off. Maybe you have known it for a long time. So here's the thing about that, if it's not YOU who is burnt out, but a colleague, offer a listening ear... and maybe some of the steps below if they are interested in problem-solving. But you can't solve this for them. Only they can solve it for themselves.

2. Step Away.  How far away and for how long depends on where you are at! You don't need to quit your job, leave your family, run away right this very second. But you DO need to commit to working through what's going on. And that will mean saying no to things, blocking your calendar, taking some personal time (not with your kids!).

3. Get quiet. Part of us already knows what to do, knows what we want, but we spend a lot of time talking ourselves out of things. So we need to hear the truth of our heart.

4. Get to the root. Do some self inquiry. What is at the root of your discontent? Not living your passion? Feeling like you aren't contributing? Not having fun? Too overwhelmed with responsibility? Bored?

In my experience, it comes down to three things, you have either:
-   Lost your spark at work, OR
- You are too overwhelmed, stressed, and can't move forward with current responsibilities, OR
- Crappy culture. You feel like a tulip in a rose garden, or whatever that saying is. Additional things like not being seen & heard, experiencing discrimination, crappy bosses, etc - all fall into this category.

5. Release the fear. In my experience, regardless of the root, when you get real deep, it all comes down to fear. Fear of showing up, fear of living life, fear of taking responsibility, fear of rejection.

I'm doing a workshop on burnout later this summer! Sharing more specific tools around how you can slow down, get quiet, release the fear... and come back to you! Want more? Send me a note.