Have you ever had a car stall?
Or maybe a tire blowout?
Putt, putt, putt, and then dead stop.
As a youth, I drove many relics. I experienced the pain of having an overheated engine, a dead battery, or running out of gas.
You sometimes feel vulnerable, inconvenienced, and stupid (gas issues are preventable).
Similarly, our lives can stall when we don’t schedule a time to rest and refresh–we burn out.
I know what you’re thinking. Yeah, yeah, I know, Marisa.
You think you’ll see it coming, but burnout is discrete.
What Leads to Burnout
If you’re an entrepreneur, action taker, or a Type A creative machine, you love your work. Your mind races with innovative ideas, new strategies, and the desire to make a difference.
For those overachievers, walking away for a day is painful. Seriously!
Rest is the hardest–I mean the h – a – r – d – e – s – t practice to schedule and maintain.
Here’s the funny thing, when you burn out, you stop more things. You stop enjoying, you stop appreciating, and you stop dreaming. Without a dream or belief, you lose sight of your life’s vision.
John Maxwell puts it this way, “If there is hope in the future, there is power in the present.”
Believe me, when I say an empty tank has no power.
For Type A personalities, boundaries often feel like punishment. But if we don’t change our view of rest and steward our health, we self-inflict a worse punishment, burnout.
Burnout can be emotional, spiritual, or physical.
Here’s the slippery slope, if you burn out in one area of your life, it will spill into other areas. We can’t move forward, and we reach a dead stop.
Here’s how I recovered from burnout. Focus on one area of your life–physical, spiritual, or emotional.
3 Simple Ways to Tackle Burnout
1. Reconnect With Your Beliefs (Spiritual)
Fear focuses on scarcity. We perceive lack and take daily blessings for granted.
Fear tries to paralyze us with foreboding predictions of doom. But we need to recognize its stench and refuse to bow down.
Fear discredits God and argues that obedience is a risk.
Instead, we contend against maggot thinking that destroys hope.
During World War II, Corrie Ten Boom’s family helped nearly 800 Jews elude the Nazi Holocaust.
She was a prisoner at Ravensbruck concentration camp near Berlin. Her beliefs, although tested, weathered the horror of war.
Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength. ― Corrie ten Boom
2. Guard Your Thoughts (Emotional)
The word “pause” needs to be part of our lexicon.
Today, people are trying to navigate through economic turmoil and life’s uncertainty. But here are some thoughts to consider.
When something ends, something begins.
Hit a wall; there’s an idea waiting to emerge.
Failure moves you closer to a solution.
I’m not a hopeless optimist. Life is full of ups and downs. Together they complete us.
We learn to pause when emotions peak and begin to respond before emotions sway us to react.
“It’s not the situation, but whether we react negative or respond positive to the situation that is important,” Zig Ziglar.
I may not know how to surf the waves of Hawaii, but I’ve learned to ride the waves of change. Even when I face discouragement or sadness, I don’t camp there. Life is too short.
3. Find a Healthy Daily Rhythm (Physical)
Health brings to mind proper diet, exercise, and plenty of rest—followed by a deep sigh. But a healthy rhythm is within our control.
Trying to find a healthy rhythm isn’t about life balance. God often uses our limitations to bring us into balance with Him.
A healthy rhythm begins with a decision–one small decision.
We stop managing, and we begin to surrender. We don’t run from change: we create change.
Burnout isn’t Forever
It took me about three weeks to recover from burnout. I questioned everything–which was a good thing.
I filled my soul with daily spiritual food that spilled into other areas of my life.
We may feel weak, but that doesn’t stop God from working in us and through us.
I realized burnout turns a person into a defensive player. You guard, protect, and you become incredibly self-focused.
The Otherside of Burnout
When you recover from burnout, you stop living defensively.
You live offensively in obedience to your destiny.
What is your destiny?
As a believer, your destiny doesn’t come with social status or financial security.
Our destiny isn’t a successful business.
Our destiny is to know God intimately.
It’s a journey that continues indefinitely—it’s eternal.
We don’t have to wait to live our destiny, we can begin today, and it won’t burn us out.
Stay Resilient!
Marisa Shadrick
Online Marketing Coach & Certified Copywriter
