Beating Burnout – What to Do When Your Flame Starts to Dim

TreatmentMarch 10, 2020

We all have a flame that burns within us. In some of us, that flame burns more brightly than others. In others, that flame is dimming — at risk of burning out completely. Burnout is a terrible experience, and it is also unpleasant to watch another go through it. Even the brightest, most energetic, and passionate person you know, brimming with life and positivity, can fall due to burnout. It takes even the best of us, doesn’t it? Well, here we discuss ways on how to manage factors that cause burnout and how to recover from the ordeal.

Take Charge

Reclaim control of your life by taking inventory of everything that you feel is a source of stress, worry, anxiety, or frustration. You should take your time to consider everything that contributes to these feelings. Don’t try and rush this list for the sake of finishing. This list is dynamic, and it will change as you change. You will need to strike out things or add things as you live through your life and you may find at times it is longer, and at times, it will be shorter. Keep a file, or a book, specifically for jotting these down.

Brainstorm

Okay, so you have your list of factors that drive you up to the wall. Now that list isn’t good for anything if you leave it at that, right? You have to look at each item you’ve put in that list and think of a way of modifying it such that it doesn’t cause you so much angst. Make the changes simple and easy to apply, and most of all, practical. Don’t expect to see immediate changes either — this is all a process and it shouldn’t be rushed through.

Learn to Delegate

There is something about highly energetic people that makes them take on everything, weighing their shoulders down with so much to do and so little time do it. It is important to learn to share tasks, even if the next person won’t be as quick at doing it as you would or as passionately. Yes, there are things in life that you need to do on your own, but don’t make it harder by piling on a whole lot more that you don’t need to do! Share the work, delegate tasks to others, and reap the benefits of a sound mind!

Time to Recover

If you are smack in the middle of burnout, that is not the time to be exercising every means you can to show how much you can do. For example, don’t take your work home to race to that finish line. When you are burnt out, you need time to heal before you can get back up and run. Think of burnout like a sprained ankle. You have to heal, hobble, then walk. Eventually, you will build up the speed to sprint again. But running on that sprained ankle is only going to do further damage. Don’t worry — everyone will still appreciate you, and you don’t need to break your back to be recognized for hard work.

Find Your Passion

It could be that your passion got lost as you were racing around doing the other 10 million things on your schedule, but it is important for you to find it. Yes, it will mean restructuring your day and moving around your workload and maybe even totally upturn your schedule, but it will be worth it. Passions are important, and they allow you to reignite that flame within yourself. If you don’t know what your passion is, find it. If you had one and lost it, make a new one. Just find that special thing that gets the creative juices flowing and gives you energy and purpose. The great thing about having a passion is that you also set an example for others. You never know who will be inspired by you and your passion – it could be your children, your neighbor, your friend, or your work colleague. But ultimately, your passion is what you do for yourself.

Don’t let burnout rob you of your enthusiasm, and don’t let it steal your energy or drain your life force. Tackle the elements you feel are leading you to be at risk of burnout and fight back with determination. Don’t let anything dim your flame.