These were my darkest days no one knew about – my battle with burnout
My business was up and running. I had wonderful clients. I taught courses that really made a difference in people’s lives. I was making money.
What the outside world didn’t know was there were also some really tough days.
Days when I felt so burned out that I didn’t want to do ANYTHING in my business.
Days that my productivity plummeted.
Days that I just couldn’t get motivated.
Despite the fact that I had a solid plan of action.
Despite the fact that my business was growing.
Despite the fact that I am a marketing expert and I knew the right steps to follow.
There were days that the only thing I heard were the voices in my head filling me with shame and guilt for not taking action.
Those days were tough. And ultimately, I would finally pull myself up and re-engage. But it wasn’t without a lot of self judgement and criticism for the time lost and the feeling
that I should be more successful and more productive.
Those were some dark days. And this pattern happened more than once.
Does this sound at all familiar?
Do you have times when you seem to do everything BUT the very thing that will move you towards what you want in life?
Do you have periods where you hit overwhelm, your productivity plummets or you lose passion for what you are doing?
If I could go back in time I would give myself such different advice to get me out of those tough periods.
And I would definitely NOT tell my younger highly sensitive self to:
“Get back in the saddle.”
“Follow my plan.”
“Work harder.”
“Take a course on overcoming procrastination or increasing
your productivity.”
“Try a different marketing strategy.”
Because all this advice would be the very thing that puts a highly sensitive person into a deeper funk filled with overwhelm, fear, stress, self judgement and shame.
Burnout is a big stumbling block for the highly sensitive person. You can be really focused and feel proud of yourself for crossing things off your “to do” list and then BAM you hit a brick wall all of a sudden and can’t seem to move forward.
Unfortunately, burnout is usually followed by periods of withdrawal. And it’s those periods of withdrawal where the danger sets in of sliding into a deep depression filled with self judgement telling yourself that you need to get back in the saddle and get busy again. And when those loud voices start to chime in and make you feel ashamed, new feelings of anxiety can take over until you feel paralyzed.
And the well intentioned friends who thinks it’s easy to just jump back into productivity mode when you have hit burnout have no clue how crippling burnout can be for a highly sensitive person.
You would think you could see the signs of burnout before it happens. But typically burnout creeps up on you slowly and silently until it shuts you down before you know it.
Here’s five things you can do to avoid hitting burnout.
#1: Change your relationship with your “to do” list.
Don’t treat your daily “to do” list like it’s a life or death situation. Prioritize the top five things that are the most urgent on the list in one day. Then give yourself a BREATHER before you continue and knock off a few more items. And keep in mind that your top five things are the ONLY priority. Any additional items should be treated as bonus items to be completed if you have the mental and physical energy to complete them that day.
#2: Schedule break times though out the day to give your MIND a rest.
Set an alarm on your phone for every couple of hours and when the alarm goes off, spend a few moments with your eyes closed just focusing on your breath. As a highly sensitive person you are taking in stimuli around you all day long. And it’s not just from what you are focusing on. It’s also from your surroundings. You need to clear your energy field frequently throughout the day of any energy you have taken into your body from your surroundings. The easiest and fastest way to do this is through slow deep breaths.
#3: Set your intention at the beginning of each day for the day to unfold easily and effortlessly.
Half the time you are wearing your body out just from the intense energy of struggle and hard work. And that includes all the time you are THINKING about how much you have to do before you even do it. So by the time you get to the task at hand you have already stressed your body out. Instead feed your mind and your body with thoughts of accomplishing everything you need to do easily, effortlessly and efficiently in a way that is in harmony with your body.
#4: Light a candle and place it by your work space.
A lit candle moves energy in your surroundings. You will find that you feel more relaxed as you work when a candle is burning. For added affect, select a candle that has a pleasing scent. This will engage and soothe your senses instead of overwhelming them.
#5: NEVER go to sleep with your “to do” list running around in your head.
Sound sleep is crucial for your well being. And that requires a quiet mind. If you have some things that you didn’t complete that day, don’t’ lie in bed and worry about them. That overtaxes your body. Instead write them down and then let the list go. And then say a moment of gratitude at the end of the day being grateful for what you DID accomplish and also gratitude for what you will accomplish the next day with a well rested body and mind to be able to be productive with ease.
Most of the reason you hit burnout is because you don’t give your mind and body a chance to catch up as you keep forging forward on sheer will power. As a highly sensitive person, this can have damaging effects and trigger you into a repeated cycle of hard work, efforting and burnout. These quick tips will keep burnout at bay and create more harmony with your mind and body.
Click here for a free copy of Debbie’s Audio for the highly sensitive person on “How To Tap Into The Goldmine Of Your Prosperity.”
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© 2017, Debbie Lynn Grace. All rights reserved.