Is 'Burnout' Staring You In The Face?

Is  'Burnout' Staring You In The Face?   

You know the uneasy feeling.  It eats at you day and night.  Can’t get it off your mind.  It grinds away in your head.  Distracts you from conversations you’re part of.  Makes you ‘distant’ from others.  Consumes your thoughts.  Paints a glazed stare on your face.  Triggers nightmares.  And worse, you’re afraid you’re one step away from clinical depression.   

Well, here’s a totally different spin on this nasty beast we call ’burnout’.  And a solution to consider… a way to get over it.

Morrie Shechtman (chairman of Fifth Wave Leadership, psychotherapist, college professor), said his clients/patients come to him complaining about burnout issues all the time.

Here is Morrie’s clinical view:  
"There is no such thing as burnout.  When we get what we think is burnout, it’s really nothing more than un-made decisions driving us crazy.  Usually they’re difficult, painful decisions we know we must make, but we can’t pull the trigger.  So we stall, avoid, and it eats us up.  The solution?  Make the decision, take action, move on… and the feeling of burnout … or what we thought was burnout… goes away. " 

I like that.  It puts the cure right in your control.

Actions For You:
Is this hitting close to home?  Are you troubled by burnout right now?   Maybe it’s an issue in your company or job?  With your family?  Something secret and deeply personal?  Maybe it’s a golden opportunity dropped in your lap?
Your ‘burnout’ could just be one or more thorny decisions you’re avoiding, ignoring, putting off.   Here’s a scarier question:  Is your delay creating even larger-scale problems?
Decisions

Decisions you know you must make -- however tormenting -- won’t magically vaporize on their own.  Maybe it’s time to face the music and act.
An ostrich sticks its head in the sand. - People can't.

A deer gets paralyzed in headlights. - People know better.

A turtle retreats into its shell - People don’t have that luxury.

And yet ... many of us are guilty of modeling each one of these behaviors - Choose to stop!

If you need reliable decision-making criteria -- so you know you’ll walk the integrity path -- use your own life mission and core values.  (Oops, not clear on those?  That’s another discussion for a different day.)

Or ask yourself this before deciding:  If, afterward, I explain my decision and action to the 3 people I respect and admire most, will they be proud of me?  Or disappointed?   Or offer some much needed advice?  Hard to shoot yourself in the foot with that as your guide.

Another Consideration
If you’re agonizing over making the ‘right’ decision, stop it.  No decision is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ at the moment you make it.  It’s just a decision.  It only proves to be right or wrong later… after other events have transpired.   So make the decision… then control the events you can control to make it right.

Power Thought:  "Inaction breeds doubt and fear.  Action breeds confidence and courage.  If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it.  Go out and get busy.”   Dale Carnegie, author of “How To Win Friends And Influence People”