An Important First Step to Battle Burnout

For decades, burnout has been considered a condition of the work environment, but in the past few years the idea of burnout has permeated both our workplaces and personal lives. And while you can Google countless lists of more things to add to your to-do list to combat burnout, this month’s conversations are more focused on small things that you can sprinkle into your daily life to nourish yourself.

These moments of what I call a Soul Sabbatical aren’t just an antidote to burnout, they’re insight into how hustle culture has ingrained itself into your mind, your body, and your soul.  You might think you need to rest more, and while that’s true, a Soul Sabbatical recognizes that it’s your heart that needs rest, not just your body and brain – because it’s your heart and soul that aren’t responding to the typical burn out check-off list.

It can take a while to recognize that you’re burned-out.  It can take even longer to admit to it.  We’ve gotten used to half-living – telling ourselves that things are “good enough”, so we grit our teeth, grin and bear it, plow through things.  But our souls long for more.  More joy. More peace. More connection.  More simplicity.  More balance.  More ease.

But we have to be still long enough to see it.

And that’s why the first tip to fighting burnout is a Permission Slip.  Just like our kids take to school to show that they’re allowed to go on a field trip.  Sometimes, we have to remember that we’re allowed to slow down and connect to something other than work, the hustle, and our racing thoughts.

Religious leaders, corporate leaders, physicians, athletes, philosophers, and poets all agree that rest is essential for the soul, for productivity, and for a balanced and healthy life.

But we suck at rest.  Don’t get me wrong, we’re really good at “pseudo-rest”.  We’re good at crashing and burning.  We’re good at numbing.  We’re good at Netflix bingeing while we drool on ourselves, half comatose. But we’re not good at rest.

We fill our calendars so that we’re moving in fast succession from one activity to another. If we happen to find ourselves in stillness, we often quickly fill the space with checking off things from our never-ending to-do list. Or, at the very least, by doom scrolling through social media. It’s how we’ve become conditioned to live in our society.

I remember weekends in the past where there was nothing on the calendar and having a moment to just BE. Not do anything. Not problem solve. Not plan. I wanted to crawl out of my skin. I had to sit with myself in some discomfort and actively remind myself that “This is what happy people do.  They rest.” I had to “write” a permission slip for myself.  Over and over again.

But that discomfort that I described is why we don’t pause. It’s why we fill any empty space we have. It can feel scary when we’re not taught how to be alone with ourselves. It’s unsettling to hear from our heart that things aren’t as “ok” as we keep telling ourselves they are.

At the beginning of my Soul Sabbatical practice, I could only give myself “permission” to be still for short periods of time.  A 3 minute meditation. Savasana at the end of a yoga class. I would tell myself over and over again “This is what happy people do.”

I would revisit my permission when the few minutes turned into hours to go see a movie. Or drive to the beach and watch a sunset. The hours expanded to Sundays completely “off”. Then a whole weekend.  Then, *gasp!!*, an entire week of vacation.

Over time, the rumbling in my head has quieted down. A little.  Sometimes, it stirs up and gets loud again, then I have to remind myself – rest, and connecting to my heart and its desires for beauty, joy, connection, and ease – is what happy people do.

Call Harper Therapy today at 813-434-3639

Check out Yolanda’s book on burnout at yolandaharper.com