Overcoming Burnout

February 23, 2024

Have you ever faced a time in your professional life where you felt you needed a change, a fresh start, a new challenge, or a new path? Maybe you have been doing the same “professional you” for some time now and feel like you’ve come to a crossroads, a crossroads of change. Could it be just a season or change or could you be experiencing “burnout”?

I believe every professional faces some type of burnout at some point in their career.

What is burnout? In short, burnout is a point in your career or life where you feel less than energized about today, less motivated and the list goes on. You are still you, and you still give your best, but you just feel disconnected from purpose or plan. It can be an overwhelming sense of disconnect that can last for a short period or longer.

For many professionals, knowing your “why” is a core foundation of who you are. It is your purpose and your fulfillment of life. But in seasons of burnout, reminding yourself of your “why” and feeling connected can be challenging. In these seasons, sometimes it requires encouragement and inspiration from others to help build your faith in yourself. As I have shared many times, we were never meant to journey on this road called life alone. We need one another.

What does faith in yourself or believing in yourself look like? It looks like you when you look at yourself in the mirror. It’s you! Believing in yourself is one of the first steps to overcoming and walking through a season of burnout.

Michael Jackson’s song “Man in Mirror” says,

“I’m starting with the man in the mirror. I’m asking him to change his ways. No message could have been any clearer…, take a look at yourself and make a change.”…

I believe,

“Motivation comes from within, but encouragement comes from others. Motivation fuels encouragement and encouragement empowers motivation.”

If you are like me, through the years I have experienced a season or two of what I thought was burnout and looking back maybe some of it was and maybe some of it wasn’t. At times, what I thought was burnout, was a season of self-development which required me to engage myself on a deeper level and grow. Other times, it was true burnout.

Experiencing burnout is not the end of the road or defeat. It’s not a weakness, lack of commitment or dedication. It’s simply a season. “To everything turn, turn, turn. There is a season, turn, turn, turn.”

At times, this season can feel like you are on a long stretch of interstate highway with no exits, no places to pull off to get snacks, stretch your legs, or refuel. You know how that feels, it’s like the road that will never end, or the “how much further?” But, just like that interstate, if you keep going, you will eventually come to the next exit. So…keep going.

So how do you overcome burnout? “If you want to overcome burnout, start by encouraging someone else.” You may be thinking, how is encouraging someone else going to help me overcome burnout. But it will.

I can guarantee you, if you begin to consistently encourage someone else in their career or life, it will change something in you. Sometimes it is hard to motivate yourself, but encouraging someone else will truly empower you. It requires you to shift your focus outward from yourself. It will change your perspective and as your perspective begins to change, your motivation will also change.

“Burnout can easily set in, when focus turns inward.”

Now there’s nothing wrong with focusing on yourself and you should at times. However, when your focus turns inward, your perspective begins to change. It becomes more centered on you, and usually entails all the stuff you don’t like in the moment, and less about your “why”, what you have to offer, what you bring to the table, your influence, skillsets and more.

“Perspective is reality; it’s the here and now, not the maybe and later.”

There have been times when I’ve experienced a season of burnout. I thought I had accomplished what I was supposed to in that season, did what I thought I was supposed to do but still didn’t feel fulfilled.

For me, when I’ve encountered these seasons, I’ve found if I redirected my focus outward, it refuels me, improved my motivation, and renewed my “why”.

Through the years, these two simple principles have helped me overcome burnout. I believe they can help you as well.

1.     Direct your focus outward by encouraging others. It sounds simple, it is, and it works.  It will impact all areas of your life and it will change your perspective. No, it doesn’t happen overnight, but if you do it consistently, you will experience a positive change.

2.     Believe in yourself. Rediscover your “why”, your purpose. This takes more than just a minute. Sometimes it’s a soul search, a dedication to yourself and a commitment that you can and will overcome.

Burnout is real, but it is never the end. Let’s encourage one another. You may be surprised at just what you can accomplish.

If you are experiencing burnout or

need encouragement, please reach out. BestLife50 exists to empower others to live their Best Life.

This is BestLife50.