How to fight against burnout?
13 November 2012
Read by 1952 persons
From worker to manager, from young to old, from women to men, burnout threatens all workers and its consequences are often devastating. Hence the importance of protecting oneself, reminds our contributor Philippe Laurent.
A reality that must be overcome urgently and a risk to be avoided at all costs, burnout is the gradual annihilation of our vital energy. It threatens the manual worker subjected to physically demanding work and affects the athlete or the ambitious person who pushes themselves to the limit to be the best. It also affects the overwhelmed or stressed manager and the student subjected to an infernal rhythm. In short, from worker to manager, from young to old, from women to men, burnout threatens men and women at work, and even more so women, naturally more inclined than men to self-sacrifice for their loved ones.
Burnout is the limit state in which a person who has gone too far finds themselves. To exhaust is to draw until the end, to empty the well of all its reserves and to deprive the land of its fertility. A person is exhausted when they are no longer connected to their source. They have exhausted themselves by going to the very limit of their own reserves, sometimes without realizing it, but more often without accepting to see it. To exhaust oneself is to consume one's own resources without taking care to replenish the aquifer that allows our person to rebuild. It is to spend and overspend without planning, it is to go into debt to oneself, it is to live in overdrive without paying attention to one's engine, without seeing that it is producing oil.
Generally, burnout appears when it is already too late
Generally, burnout appears when it is already too late, like running out of gas on the side of the highway. Even if they persist in turning the ignition key and continue to press the accelerator pedal, the exhausted person at work is forced to be unable to move forward. They no longer have enough energy to do what is asked of them, no longer have a taste for life and avoid encounters as interaction with others has become burdensome.
With the feeling of being out of the loop, they exist, dragging their person like a ball and chain, even though their good will still wants to move forward. No more effort is possible, because work and even existence have become too heavy, the person feeling like they are carrying themselves. Enthusiasm and joy have gradually disappeared to make way for a sad immobility of heart, mind and body; the taste for life has given way to the desire for nothing.
One of the main causes of professional burnout is work overload
One of the main causes of professional burnout is work overload, that is to say the inadequacy of the quantity of work to be done with the objective or subjective capacity of the person. It is also the lack of recognition that gradually dries up the aquifer that the person needs to keep the desire to continue. The person exhausts themselves by giving more than they receive, giving of their time and giving of themselves with the feeling of not receiving in return what is due to them in addition to their salary: listening, attention, recognition, sharing of the vision and perspectives.
Burnout is like the result of "the exploitation of man" by himself or another in the sense that he is asked for more than his nature can give, thus echoing this saying by Cardinal de Bernis "too much cultivation exhausts a fertile field". If our generous goodwill or our simple forced docility accepts it, our body and psyche cannot keep up with this demand. Frantic pace, interminable travel times, too long days interspersed with too short nights, our person is in overdrive and forced to stop for not wanting or daring to take a break when it was still time.
The exhausted person suddenly becomes inefficient, even counterproductive
Driving oneself towards exhaustion or leading others there is a very bad calculation because the exhausted person suddenly becomes inefficient, even counterproductive. Their state impacts the dynamics of their personal and professional environment, their lack of vitality weighing down the good atmosphere and even discouraging the enthusiasm of the most enthusiastic. A weight for themselves, they gradually become a weight for others. Life becomes tasteless, food loses its flavor, even pleasure disappears, going so far as to think with José Carlos Somoza that "it is worse, much worse to exhaust oneself than to die".
The best way to fight against our own burnout is to prevent it by regularly checking our personal gauge with the idea that burnout is possible, even for us, and by paying attention to the warnings of loved ones who watch us evolve from the outside with more objectivity. Recognizing the limits of one's strength is not praising indolence; it is simply showing humility and realism. Burnout rarely catches us by surprise; we feel it coming. Let's accept it before it overwhelms us!
Those who have experienced burnout understand the importance of protecting themselves
When burnout is there, we are down and we must use effective means to get back up. The first of all these means is to replenish sleep, because our batteries recharge at night. The second is not to stay alone and to accept the help of others to unload ourselves. The exhausted person regains their vitality by gradually regaining awareness of the sensations that put them in current interaction with reality. Through the gradual assimilation of everything that does them good and nourishes them, they will reconnect with their source: their friends, distractions, manual, artistic, intellectual or spiritual activities.
Those who have experienced burnout understand the importance of protecting themselves, of carefully monitoring their reserves, of sparing their mount and that of others. Learning to say no to demands that weigh on us then takes on its full meaning; thinking about oneself is no longer guilty but salutary, and taking the time to nourish oneself deeply becomes vital. Preventing burnout is asking oneself the question "what nourishes me?" and answering it every day by devoting the time that suits us.
Philippe Laurent.
Lexpress.fr
Published on September 26, 2012.
Posted online on November 13, 2012.
A reality that must be overcome urgently and a risk to be avoided at all costs, burnout is the gradual annihilation of our vital energy. It threatens the manual worker subjected to physically demanding work and affects the athlete or the ambitious person who pushes themselves to the limit to be the best. It also affects the overwhelmed or stressed manager and the student subjected to an infernal rhythm. In short, from worker to manager, from young to old, from women to men, burnout threatens men and women at work, and even more so women, naturally more inclined than men to self-sacrifice for their loved ones.
Burnout is the limit state in which a person who has gone too far finds themselves. To exhaust is to draw until the end, to empty the well of all its reserves and to deprive the land of its fertility. A person is exhausted when they are no longer connected to their source. They have exhausted themselves by going to the very limit of their own reserves, sometimes without realizing it, but more often without accepting to see it. To exhaust oneself is to consume one's own resources without taking care to replenish the aquifer that allows our person to rebuild. It is to spend and overspend without planning, it is to go into debt to oneself, it is to live in overdrive without paying attention to one's engine, without seeing that it is producing oil.
Generally, burnout appears when it is already too late
Generally, burnout appears when it is already too late, like running out of gas on the side of the highway. Even if they persist in turning the ignition key and continue to press the accelerator pedal, the exhausted person at work is forced to be unable to move forward. They no longer have enough energy to do what is asked of them, no longer have a taste for life and avoid encounters as interaction with others has become burdensome.
With the feeling of being out of the loop, they exist, dragging their person like a ball and chain, even though their good will still wants to move forward. No more effort is possible, because work and even existence have become too heavy, the person feeling like they are carrying themselves. Enthusiasm and joy have gradually disappeared to make way for a sad immobility of heart, mind and body; the taste for life has given way to the desire for nothing.
One of the main causes of professional burnout is work overload
One of the main causes of professional burnout is work overload, that is to say the inadequacy of the quantity of work to be done with the objective or subjective capacity of the person. It is also the lack of recognition that gradually dries up the aquifer that the person needs to keep the desire to continue. The person exhausts themselves by giving more than they receive, giving of their time and giving of themselves with the feeling of not receiving in return what is due to them in addition to their salary: listening, attention, recognition, sharing of the vision and perspectives.
Burnout is like the result of "the exploitation of man" by himself or another in the sense that he is asked for more than his nature can give, thus echoing this saying by Cardinal de Bernis "too much cultivation exhausts a fertile field". If our generous goodwill or our simple forced docility accepts it, our body and psyche cannot keep up with this demand. Frantic pace, interminable travel times, too long days interspersed with too short nights, our person is in overdrive and forced to stop for not wanting or daring to take a break when it was still time.
The exhausted person suddenly becomes inefficient, even counterproductive
Driving oneself towards exhaustion or leading others there is a very bad calculation because the exhausted person suddenly becomes inefficient, even counterproductive. Their state impacts the dynamics of their personal and professional environment, their lack of vitality weighing down the good atmosphere and even discouraging the enthusiasm of the most enthusiastic. A weight for themselves, they gradually become a weight for others. Life becomes tasteless, food loses its flavor, even pleasure disappears, going so far as to think with José Carlos Somoza that "it is worse, much worse to exhaust oneself than to die".
The best way to fight against our own burnout is to prevent it by regularly checking our personal gauge with the idea that burnout is possible, even for us, and by paying attention to the warnings of loved ones who watch us evolve from the outside with more objectivity. Recognizing the limits of one's strength is not praising indolence; it is simply showing humility and realism. Burnout rarely catches us by surprise; we feel it coming. Let's accept it before it overwhelms us!
Those who have experienced burnout understand the importance of protecting themselves
When burnout is there, we are down and we must use effective means to get back up. The first of all these means is to replenish sleep, because our batteries recharge at night. The second is not to stay alone and to accept the help of others to unload ourselves. The exhausted person regains their vitality by gradually regaining awareness of the sensations that put them in current interaction with reality. Through the gradual assimilation of everything that does them good and nourishes them, they will reconnect with their source: their friends, distractions, manual, artistic, intellectual or spiritual activities.
Those who have experienced burnout understand the importance of protecting themselves, of carefully monitoring their reserves, of sparing their mount and that of others. Learning to say no to demands that weigh on us then takes on its full meaning; thinking about oneself is no longer guilty but salutary, and taking the time to nourish oneself deeply becomes vital. Preventing burnout is asking oneself the question "what nourishes me?" and answering it every day by devoting the time that suits us.
Philippe Laurent.
Lexpress.fr
Published on September 26, 2012.
Posted online on November 13, 2012.
