burnout isn't a problem - it's a sign you're growing
I knew I was overgiving. I just didn’t adjust for it - and that’s exactly how burnout snuck in.
This is how burnout creeps in - even as someone who has dedicated her career to helping eradicate burnout.
We’ve had a lot going on. Having a toddler, my husband’s had a lot on his plate at work, my business growing and expanding (& getting super pumped for some events and podcasts coming up). Plus birthday celebrations for both Adam and Caleb. Let alone taking care of our house, our bunny Gus, being with our family and friends, house projects, the list goes onnnn - you know it.
I’ve been managing our grocery and meal prep (something I don’t typically take on) as well as planning two great series of events for both boys’ birthdays. I know I was overgiving - that was my choice. So long ago, I wouldn’t have even realized that’s what I was doing - but this time, I knew I was choosing to take on more than felt truly good to me.
But this is where the burnout happens, even for me -
I knew I was overgiving, but didn’t compensate for it.
I didn’t ask (or take) the support I should have. There are so many things I could have done - put Caleb in school an extra day, ask for help (even just more emotional support) from my family or friends. Taken more time for myself - even to meditate for two minutes (though I did do that one day - with Caleb! A story for a different time).
When I started really feeling the burnout, I am proud that I called in the big guns for meal support - thank you @factormeals ! 10/10 would recommend. Because it floors me that we (as a society) have figured out a way to feed ourselves everyday multiple times a day for our whole lives. Blows my mind. I’m not passionate about cooking, but I do love food so this is a game changer. Plus I took us out to breakfast. @foxinthesnowcafe - yes please!!
But here’s what I’m taking away -
This is how burnout happens:
1. You have a lot going on
2. You choose (consciously or not) to overgive
3. You don’t get the support you want
4. Burnout happens
I think it’s so important to know and see in real time.
Because the truth is I’m so passionate about burnout because it still creeps into my life too.
Because burnout is a brain habit and every time we grow into our next level, our old habits try to come back in to keep us in our old comfort zone.
Nothing has gone wrong - it’s literally a sign that you’re leveling up.
If we don’t know that and don’t know our burnout habits, it’s super easy to get pulled under again. Our brains do this to keep us safe.
But the truth is once I noticed the burnout, it took very little to “fix” it.
I did four things - all of which I teach deeply in my burnout audio course the Burnout Protocol (linked here). So you know exactly what to do when you see the burnout creeping in.
I signed up for an event I wanted to go to for me, signed Caleb up for an extra day of school and talked to Adam about how I was feeling - so that I felt seen and heard. Then I acknowledged how fast I caught that burnout - and celebrated the growth in that and the growth I know is coming because burnout creeping back in is a sign of growth in and of itself.
So this is what you do when you notice the burnout creeping in:
1. Prioritize something just for yourself
2. Get more support
3. Share how you’re feeling with someone you trust
4. Look for the ways you’re different now, how you’re growing and how far you’ve come
That’s it. Because when we heal the burnout, we’re able to catch it happening in the moment so much faster. It’s just a sign to redirect.
Nothing has gone wrong.
I saw this happening last night and literally felt a million times better by this afternoon.
The old me would have spent weeks, months ruminating in this stuff, unsure what I was doing wrong.
But what I know is we’re always changing. What we need and want changes. And sometimes we don’t know our boundaries until we cross them - that’s part of learning.
We get to see burnout as a sign of growing out of our old way of doing things - how beautiful is that!
