“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes… Including you.”
Anne Lamott
Beyond the Quote (114/365)
Following through on a commitment is something that you can choose to do or choose not to do. Burning out is something that happens—it’s not something that you can choose against. When there’s no more gas in the car, you can’t choose to magically have more gas with the snap of your fingers—you need a gas station for that. When there’s no more battery juice left in your phone, you can’t choose to boost your battery life with positive thinking—you need a charging cable for that. When there’s no more energy left inside you—mental, physical, or emotional—you can’t demand more energy to appear through even the most disciplined thinking—you need rest, recover, and self-care for that.
What’s unique about the human energy system is that we can channel energy to accomplish tasks from mental, physical, and emotional stores. Sometimes when we’re mentally drained, for example, we can muscle our way through a workout (using physical energy stores) and still complete the commitment. Sometimes when we’re physically drained, we can use emotional energy to still get a workout done by surrounding ourselves with our tribe or people who emit high vibrations. Even if we’re emotionally drained, we can use the mental energy of rationalization and logic our way to getting things done—because we’re the type of person who follows through on our commitments. Burnout, though, isn’t the depletion of only one, or even two, of your stores of energy—it’s a depletion of all three.
When you’re burned out—you’re done. Your physical energy is used up. Your mental energy is exhausted. And your emotional energy is gone. Burnout is a whole different game. When you’re burned out you can’t muscle your way through a workout because there’s no energy to borrow from your mental or emotional stores; you can’t emotionally convince yourself to show up to the workout because you don’t even want to be around other people; and you won’t be able to logic your way to working out because your willpower and discipline will have been depleted. When there’s no energy left to utilize, the system shuts down.
When you’re mindful of your energy levels, you can prevent burnout from happening. Too bad there isn’t an icon in the top right corner of our vision that tells us how much mental, physical, and emotional energy we have left before shut down, eh? What we do have, though, are the tools of questions and self-reflection. By asking yourself how you’re feeling in each of these domains, your mind will naturally provide a response. What’s important is that you’re honest with yourself and not fluffing over your feelings with positive or demanding thinking. Do this with focused intent and do this regularly. In so doing, you’ll be better able to manage your pace, adjust your direction, and prevent full shut downs from happening. Remember, you are in control of your decisions, but you are not always in control of the consequences of those decisions. Choose and act wisely.
Don't Let the Motivation Stop There...!
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