Your Life is Not on Hold
Burnout is a reality that is hard to face, but simple mindset shifts can help you fight the hard moments.
Read that Subject Title Again.
Your life is not on Hold.
How many times in the last week, month, year, have you sat at that desk job just feeling like you’re deteriorating from the inside out? Sure, the people you work with are good people, and the work isn’t honestly that bad. You just sit at a desk, right? So why is it that every single time you come home from work, you barely have the energy to get something in the microwave to eat before you sit and binge David Attenborough reruns on Netflix (Planet Earth, all the way)?
But again, Your Life is not on hold.
What you're feeling isn’t stagnation. It’s burnout.
What you’re feeling isn’t stagnation. It’s Burnout.
And there’s a huge difference.
Stagnation, you fully support this life. You don’t want more, because you’re comfortable where you are.
Burnout?
Burnout is where you know there is more for you, but you just…can’t…quite reach for what it takes to do one more thing. That psychological siphoning of all of your aspirations requires a significant change.
But the job market is crap right now, as we all know, so let’s work on something we CAN change.
Your mindset.
3 Mindset Shifts to Tackle Burnout
Keep these three things in mind:
#1 Separate your life success from your job success.
Ultimately, in 15 years, or hell, maybe in even 3 years… the job you have today, the boss, and the colleagues... None of their opinions will matter. You may not remember what that performance review said, but you will remember that you paid for the trip to Positano and hiked the Path of the Gods (yes, a real place). You define the parameters of success. Maybe that is building a business or becoming a CEO. Maybe it’s just paying the bills. But when you add LIFE's definition of success, your future can feel a whole lot brighter.
#2 Use your Job as Opportunity, Don’t Wait on It!
Yes, you are burnt out. But are there things you can do on the job that you haven’t considered that could set you up for the future? Maybe the health benefits would partially cover an Oura Ring or a Fitbit, so you can work on your sleep or train for that marathon. Maybe there’s a project at work that aligns with a career shift you want to make from finance to marketing. Maybe a training course your boss will let you work on during working hours. Maybe they’ll move you to a different location (that’s how I got back to Colorado!) Possibilities are endless, and can help combat some of that “stuck” feeling
#3 Live Within Your Adventure Right Now.
Is the reality that motivation? Is Overrated. At some point, you need to get off that couch. But it’s also good to have a carrot to entice you. If you set the goal NOW of the adventure you want to head to next (two-week annual vacation, a shot at that unlimited PTO, maybe a career break or full career change), you can LIVE in that adventure RIGHT NOW.
In the planning,
In the plane ticket paying,
In the training,
In the outfit and gear shopping.
The adventure is here to live incrementally, day-to-day. Even, from the comfort of your Netflixing couch.
Work is never easy, and it takes time to find the right fit. But you can still find fits to your life RIGHT NOW. All it takes… is a change of mind.
