Because U Require Necessary Outages Until Termination

BURNOUT is a very real health risk; an outcome of a life lived too big.

Yet the irony of burnout is it’s usually because we’ve lived life too small that we end up there.  We’ve funnelled all our efforts, with such unmanageable intensity, within a narrow field of endeavour.  Sure, there are other things that have impinged on our time and energy, but essentially we’ve lost life perspective and life balance becomes a pipedream only others could ever attain.

I approached burnout in 2005 before taking a massive course correction.  I had to respond; my mind stopped working.  Since then I’ve had to be careful with how much load I place myself under.  Since then I’ve learned to rest and to work out of a position of rest.  Contemplation has had to become my way.

It’s because you require necessary outages until your life is terminated.

None of us can run at breakneck speed for months and years without it taking its toll.

Yet, it’s one thing to arrive at burnout, to recognise the signs and symptoms.  It’s another thing entirely to respond the right way, and to learn to live new, healthier rhythms of life.

To the acronym B.U.R.N.O.U.T. here are some strategies to consider:

BREAK:                take a break from all the existing insidious rhythms.  Let life go on without you.  Sure, it’ll be hard to feel you’re disappointing people, but something more important is at stake.

UNDO:                 the silly paces and unnecessary tasks of your life.  One by one undo everything that doesn’t support the goal of family.

REST:                   chances are you don’t know how.  There’s no easy way of saying it, but if you don’t rest, you may ultimately need to rest in peace!  You may die because of the frenetic pace of life and the stress you endure.

NEEDS:                connect with your real needs.  At the early stages of recovering from burnout it’s a case of relying on close, trusted and wise others to guide you.

OPEN UP:           learn to open up to people.  Learn resist making everything a task, and enter truly into relationships that ensure you remain opened up.

UTILISE:              the capacities you have that have been left dormant over the years.  This means embracing new things in gallant ways.

TRY LESS:          really.  Try less. 
When we try less we find we do more.

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The more we rest between campaigns, the better are our campaigns of life.

© 2016 Steve Wickham.