Burnout is Not a Badge of Honor

How many of you ever have truly felt the drainage of being in a true space of burnout? I don’t just mean being a little sleep deprived, but true burnout- exhaustion; feeling misaligned with how you are spending your time, energy, and attention; some emotional distress or even despair; and maybe even being in a space of depression, extreme anxiety, or dread. THAT is burnout- a place of mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual deprivation that shows up in all areas of your life and has extreme negative impacts on your health.

I have experienced burnout 4 separate times in my life before the age of 30. Each of these 4 times were in different spaces and times within my life. The first time and second time I was in school (undergrad and then grad school) and literally ended up in the hospital both times. The third time was during the pandemic (feel like a lot of people experienced that). The last time was in fall of 2023 after the move to Ohio and starting as a full time entrepreneur. So all of this is coming from a mix of personal experience and professional learning/research. Even though there was a lot of differences in where I was at that time, there were some consistencies that were true across them.

1) First, I neglected myself. As leaders, parents, business owners, caretakers of any kind, how often do we put our needs on the back burner? I am a recovering people pleaser and busy body. It is important for me to make the people around me, especially those that I love or value happy. Most of the time I do that at my own expense by not holding true to my boundaries and values. How are you neglecting what you need? You cannot give from an empty cup… just let that sink in… Also, no is a complete sentence. You can set boundaries and not have to justify yourself.

2) Second, I neglected rest. Go go go is not sustainable. Rest is required. Disconnecting is required. Again, you cannot give from an empty cup! Rest is not just sleeping, it is finding ways to pour back into yourself. It doesn’t just have to be big expensive experiences like the spa or a facial but could even be a movie night with your partner, friend, or family where you are disconnected from phone/social, pour into each other, and be present. What is one thing you can do today to pour into yourself? How can you ensure you are regularly disconnecting and resting?

3) Next, I kept the mentality that more is always better, fun fact, it ISNT! Being busy all the time and just doing more things, is not always the answer. How can you prioritize in work, business, life, etc the things that are the most important to spend your time, energy, and attention on? Is there a way you can ask for help? You cannot do all things for all people. Asking for help is a sign of strength not weakness.

4) The things that I was doing/people I was pouring into were not at the core aligned with my deepest values. It is important to pour yourself into places, people, and jobs that are aligned with what is important to you and is mutually beneficial to you.

5) My health was put on the back burner. When we become busy it is really easy to say we don’t have time to eat healthy, meal prep, workout, etc. What is the harm if you don’t? I don’t know about y’all but when I eat poorly, stop exercising, stop drinking enough water, I feel like garbage and what comes out of my mind, heart, and mouth is not as healthy. Even if is small steps in the right direction, something is better than nothing.

These are just a few of the key themes/threads that were a part of my four burnout experiences. This is also why burnout prevention is such a huge passion for me. Maybe you are saying “Faith this sounds a lot like me, what do I do about it?” I am so glad you asked!

First, know that change is possible and you do not have to go it alone! One of my new service offerings that I am so excited about is a wellness/burnout prevention audit where we can start the conversation on what is going on and make a plan to move forward. Grab your $100 session here!

Second, if you are a leader of a business or organization and you feel like you need tools to support you both on a personal and professional level, join the waitlist for a new mastermind that will launch in June in partnership with a dear friend of mine. The Soul-Nourished Success is really for those leaders that know they want to scale but do not know how to do so in a way that aligns with their values, priorities, and needs. We will focus on scaling with intention and ways to continue to pour into yourself. Success doesn’t have to come at the cost of your well-being. Learn more and sign up for the waitlist here.

Lastly, if you need someone to come talk to your organization or group about burnout prevention, respond to this email!