Are You Burning Out? 7 Signs It’s Time for a Change

We have talked a lot about burnout and how it hurts You and those around you. it does this by sapping the energy and drive from you. We have to also talk about why burnout happens. this week, I wanted to go ahead and share 7 key indicators to look out for that show you when Burnout is encroaching on you and your dreams

Why Is Burnout Something to Avoid?

Burnout causes many problems for us men. Yes, we push ourselves hard. We push ourselves to the limit and beyond many times. Often it is good for us to push ourselves so that we know what our limits are. sadly though we often are not aligned with our goals and we do not provide adequate boundaries. This creates the resistance and the friction that causes us to burn out.

When we are burned out we lose all enthusiasm and drive for our goal. It affects our family life and burnout also interferes with our mental health. It often leads to dangerous forms of buffering depression and can at times lead to suicide. So burnout is not a good thing to experience. we need you to be excited to jump into your goals. because Society needs men who are eager to reach their objectives. 

What Signs do you need to be aware of?

One of the sad parts about burnout is that it can be very sneaky in showing up. First, it’s just a little irritation here and there. Then you have a little more work that is in your zone of competence. Then it turns around and starts to engulf you in the misery and the suffering that you believe you have to endure to get to the other side.

Yeah, there are Challenging things that we have to tackle as we work. However, that isn’t the same as resistance and friction which amounts to burnout. So what do you want to look for when doing something that shows you’re heading to burnout? 

Sickening feeling on Sunday

A big indicator is what starts happening on Sunday or the day before you go back to work. Is it like any other day or do you have a low-level sense of dread? That feeling that you’re going to be sick though there’s no physical problem with you.

This is a really good sign that you are in full resistance mode. the dreading of going to work. the change in attitudes. if you can’t be okay with going back to work there is a problem there. 

What is it about your work that you are dreading? Now before you go off and say well it’s work, who wants to work? The answer is most people actually like to work but if your job isn’t in alignment with you then you have a problem. find out what that problem is. How are you viewing that problem? Are the thoughts about work true? Actually, sit down and fully examine your circumstances. see what it is about your job and your employer that you have a problem with.

Is the boss a jerk? Is he really or is he just calling out your BS? Does he see you having more potential than you’re putting in? Fix your thoughts about the work before you even change companies because you’re not going to fix the problem you’re going to bring the problem with you. So if you’re sick and dreading Mondays it would do you good to understand why from a non-victim line of thinking. 

Buffering

On the weekends how much do you drink? How much do you eat? How much do you engage in indulgent habits? These habits are activities that draw your thoughts away from the problems at hand.

So if you are at work, and you’re struggling with motivation. We often want to do an activity that will release us of our dis-ease. That may mean going through a 12-pack of beer each night. Eating yourself into a food coma. Turning to marijuana or some other type of drug. These are normal activities that a person facing burnout will have.

We want to force out the thoughts that come with burnout. Those thoughts are often unpleasant feelings. They generate unpleasant emotions, and it’s the weekend we want to feel good so we buffer against the thoughts we need to address 

Short-tempered

Another example of us men being under the pressure of resistance and starting to burn out is when we get grumpy. we start to snap at friends and family. We get into arguments with our spouses. We want to fall into the victim mindset way too fast. 

This has to do with the fact that we are having emotions that keep us from being pleasant. The old saying misery loves company comes into play rather quickly. If we aren’t feeling like laughing and joking because of the thoughts that we are having about work then it’s really tough to laugh with our son because he played a practical joke on us. it’s easier to snap at him to yell at him, Then it is to face the thoughts that we are having.

This is where having a 5×5 can help out tremendously. step back and breathe for 5 minutes. get a hold of the thoughts that you’re having. question whether those thoughts are true or if they actually serve you at the moment. if not then give yourself time when you can process them. clean up your thoughts and you will understand; when you are upset, why are you upset?

Additionally, it would do you good if you are able to find a helpful way to drop work at the door. Now I do understand that it isn’t a skill everyone possesses but it is learnable.

I would also recommend that you talk to your Band of Brothers. These men can help you process the stress and the thoughts that lead to that stress so you can mitigate your burnout before it becomes a problem.

Exhausted

Another example of when you’re close to burnout is when you are overly Expired in the Energy Department. That is a huge sign that there is a lot going on. When we worry when we fret we spend a lot more energy than when we are in Flow State. so when you find yourself exhausted you want to start paying attention to why.

If being depleted of energy happens on a regular basis that shows you have more stress in your life than normal. This leads to more cortisol in your body which has the effect of more weight. find out how you can stop stressing about work. This may not be easy because you do have a high-stress work environment. if that is the case it would benefit you to find ways to reduce that stress where you can.

 That may be simple breathing exercises or even a little mindfulness during lunch. You can find ways of refreshing your mind throughout the day. 

Insomnia

Nothing worse than being worn out from the previous day and then not being able to sleep that night. Maybe you’re worried about a meeting in the morning. Maybe you have a big launch that is coming up. no matter what it is we have to be able to find ways of being able to get enough sleep.

Our doctors recommend that we have 8 hours of sleep. Yet many times we are good if we get 4 hours of sleep. If the stress of work is simply only a temporary thing then you can push through this tough season in life. Talk with your friends, and it may sound like too much but also try getting some exercise. Healthy amounts of exercise can help you get past the noisy mind that is keeping you awake.

Lack of Enthusiasm

Nothing worse than not having the drive or enthusiasm to even do the activities you love. to have a connected relationship with your wife but to lose the enthusiasm can set you back in all the hard work that you’ve done. Yes, you may have been communicating with your wife about what’s going on but she will sense the lack of enthusiasm that you have when you’re entering burnout. and Our wives love to worry and when they see a change in us, they believe it is something that they have done.

The enthusiasm that we have is an emotion that is created by our thoughts. This is where being able to understand our thoughts and adjust our thoughts comes in handy. If we see that thoughts of work are not helping us at home then we can change our thoughts and focus on the thoughts that do serve us.

Lack of Motivation

 Now all of this you can see how the previous six indicators pile on top of each other. Without the energy to live life to the fullest, we lack the enthusiasm to embrace our lives as we want them to be. We don’t have that enthusiasm. We sure as heck are not going to have the motivation that is needed to accomplish our goals. Then add in buffering and other indulgent activities there’s no wonder we would feel dread on Sundays. 

With all that dread and limiting thoughts the alienating that we do of our friends and family because we are cranky and irritable no wonder we are feeling so alone when we have no motivation.

The lack of motivation starts to blend into a sense of hopelessness and helplessness and now those senses cause to fall into depression that’s when the burnout has got us completely and we don’t want to work on our passion anymore we don’t want to embrace our desires, because we don’t have the motivation we don’t have the drive we don’t have the thoughts that keep us afloat.

 So when you start feeling burnout coming on it’s not an excuse to Slough off work but it is a time for us to knuckle down and to work on ourselves even more. to become better men, to become stronger, to become more resilient. We can do that but we have to pay attention to what we’re thinking. We have to pay attention to what we’re feeling because without those we can find ourselves lost quickly and wonder why our families fell apart and why we lost the big account.

 if you would like help with finding your passion or keeping your passion going you can always reach out to me by taking the next step