Baddies Burnout Too

Burnout: the state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.

Why am I talking about this? Millennials are known as the burnout generation. We are the generation that is obsessed with our jobs and don’t get the pay we deserve. Older generations say we’re ungrateful, and should be grateful for our paying jobs. I feel like I’ve experienced burnout so many times in my life- but I never saw a way out of it. But for the first time- I feel burnout and I don’t see a quick fix for it. It's not something a vacation or a few days off can fix. 

Being in education is a very “burning” experience- and I argue that the fact that I don't have kids and a husband makes it more “burning”. Because people know you don’t have any “outside work obligations” (that society deems as worthy), you can easily take a child home after school even though it's out of your way- you can buy food for kids, etc. It gets to a point where you’ve done the job so much- that you just don't want to do it anymore.  

Burnout can happen because of work, life, or personality traits! 

At work, this could be you completing a challenging task and not receiving recognition for it, working in an overly demanding position, or being in a controlling environment. 

In terms of lifestyle, this could be you have too many responsibilities on your plate and no support from those around you. 

And this surprised me- your personality can also cause you to burn out! So baddies- you’re high achieving, feel like you need to be in control, or lean towards perfectionism- you are also likely to experience burnout. 

I  have some solutions for burnout that I’m about to share- but keep this in mind: Burnout is the result of living in a capitalistic society. Even after following these steps- you can still feel burnout. These are some steps that have helped me and I want to share them with you. 

Slowdown

The world will not end if you don’t do that one thing for work. Most of our jobs aren’t that serious and really aren’t controlled by us. Take your cape off and slow down. 

Change something

Change the thing that is harming you. If you hate your job then apply for a new job. Just like you got this one- I promise you can get another one. If you feel like you do too much around the house- ask for help. Make the changes you need to make to be happy. 

Audit your life

Conduct a thorough investigation of your life. Ask yourself these questions:

What part of you is all this work fulfilling? Is it ego-based? What’s the psychology behind you wanting this particular thing in your life?

There's so much peace in identifying your feelings and the cause of them.

Disconnect

Always being connected to work, people, social media, and the internet is stressful. Periodically disconnect from the world to breathe and get back in touch with yourself. 

If you want to hear more on this topic, listen to the podcast!