What does burnout really feel like?
Imagine… you are a tree. (stick with me, this is going somewhere)
Your roots are your connection to the past and your family history.
Your trunk is everything that makes you uniquely you. Your unique genetics, beliefs and values.
As you grow into yourself, you start to grow branches… these are your life experiences. A branch for each key area of your life.
As you gain life experiences, your branches grow longer, wider with more offshoots and variations.
Ideally, you grow into a beautifully rounded tree with manicured leaves and solid roots, so welcoming and energising, that people flock to spend time around you.
But this unfortunately this is not a fictional story, in reality, life happens.
There are moments when life feels balanced and in harmony, you feel energised and in flow. There are also moments when you feel out of control, off balance and like nothing can go right for you.
Your energy and resources are finite. What if you are investing your the majority of energy into one area of your life? One branch starts to get longer, while your others start to feel a little ragged and neglected.
Suddenly, your tree is a little wonky when the wind blows and challenges comes, you struggle to “bounce back”. You look around and you don’t seem to be able to sway in the wind, like everyone else.
That’s ok. It happens in a busy period of life. Trees are not meant to be perfectly rounded anyway, right?
But, what is its not just a “busy period”?
What happens to your tree if you ignore the warning signs and “put the head down” or “survive it” for longer, and longer?
The branch that you had been investing all your energy into gets further and further from your trunk (the core of who you are), while your other branches start to shrink away….
You feel like just one more puff of wind, and you will break.
…. This is what burnout feels like.
I coach people who are at an inflection point in their life, they come to me because they are ready to embrace change and take control. I see signs of burnout in my coaching room every day. If you find yourself relating to this post, know that you are not alone. In today’s world, with relentless change and challenge, it is human to feel moments of burnout in your life. You are not failing.
I believe moments of burnout can be a gift, our body is sending us a warning that something has to change.
The challenge? Only you can decide whether to accept the gift or ignore it and plough on.
To go back to the tree analogy one last time, you have invested so much energy into one branch of your life, suddenly, you are out on a limb. You feel alone, stuck and maybe, you don’t really know who you are anymore. Can you even see your other branches from out there?
If you can relate to this story, and you can’t seem to find a path back to balance, please don’t ignore it any longer. You deserve more from your life than to live in a state of survival.
An indicator of burnout for me is when people struggle to answer questions about who they really are:
What do you like to do?
What do you care about?
Who are you?
How are you feeling?
Are you ready to take a few minutes to check in on yourself?
Find a quiet space and grab a pen & paper.
Draw your tree… with no judgement, curating or pause, just let the ink flow.
Pens down, now sit back and ask yourself the following:
What surprises you about your tree?
How are each of your branches looking?
What is one thing you could do to make your tree more balanced?
The great news is that burnout does not have to be a permanent state. I passionately believe that you always have choices, usually far more than you realise. We are all a work in progress.
The bad news is that no one is coming to save you so if you feel like you need to make a change, you need to take control and do something differently. There are lots of amazing supports out there but you need to be the one to take ownership of your life/tree.
I work with people every day who arrive with signs of burnout and this step to work with a coach and not have to figure it out alone, gives them great confidence that the future can be brighter. I have been working on rebalancing my own tree for the past two years and I promise you "the work" is so worth it.
If you would like to talk more about how coaching might support you to live a more fulfilled and balanced life, you can book in for a free 30 minute consultation - I would love an opportunity to explore with you.
