Are you feeling drained?
Like if you hear your boss announce another “new, exciting” initiative you’ll literally scream “Enough with the new stuff already??!! Can’t you see we haven’t done the old stuff yet?”
Despite what your boss thinks, not everyone is pumped up about new projects, goals, markets, and business opportunities. Some of “us,” maybe even a lot of “us,” are burnt out. Seriously burnt out.
Like …
– The thought of responding to a customer complaint requires more energy than we think we’re capable of generating
– Knowing we need to address a difficult situation, but just don’t want to deal with it
– Recognizing that we need to get aligned on new organization goals, but just can’t seem to care
We can recall a person who wanted to wake up early, go to the gym, and grab a Starbucks right before we skipped into the office building. That person seemed to have a lot of pep. We can’t help but wonder: what happened to them?
Microsoft’s Chief People Office penned a piece last week about a global human energy crisis – it resonated with me. Not because I’m in an energy crisis currently, but I can recall a time I was. It was during grad school several years ago when I was running my business and raising young children, while my then-husband was away on a work assignment for a few months.
I remember waking up early one morning, reading an email from a dear friend who had exciting news to share, and being too tired to even write her an enthusiastic response back. This was not Angie behavior!!! Yet, this was Angie – mentally, physically, and spiritually fried.
So, what did I do? I started by doing the stuff I didn’t want to do, which centered on self-care. It’s odd, isn’t it? In times like these, you have to battle with your mind, body, and soul to initiate self-healing. It’s sort of like eating vegetables. I know it’s good for me, but I just don’t want to do it!
It’s like your body is screaming at you to stay in bed, but your mind knows the better thing to do is wake up and get moving. Or, your mind is telling you to eat pizza and grilled cheese for lunch, and your body is saying, “Please don’t.”
You have to fight for mind, body, soul alignment. If you don’t know where to start, here’s an idea: just close your eyes and start breathing. And, because it’s summer, do what the rest of the world is doing: take some time off! Real time off – make a whole-hearted attempt at disconnecting! Don’t be a hero and respond to emails while you’re away – do yourself a service by investing in you.
Burn out is real. A human energy crisis is real. And if it’s really, really heavy for you, let me suggest getting help.
Also, remind yourself that you’re not alone. It’s nothing to feel ashamed about. Honor where you are right now by taking the time to address what you need to do to get back to you.
PS My hope is that you really do have a vacation lined up this summer!! Join me for the Soft Power Series on July 12th where I discuss “How to Break like a Boss!” You never know? You might discover you’re breaking all wrong … and there might be better ways to get the rest you need. Register by clicking here.
