Can you reach Burnout more than once?

Can you reach Burnout more than once is a question I get asked a lot.

It's often also the biggest fear of the clients I work with through one to one coaching, reaching Burnout again.

And yes, you can reach Burnout more than once.

Many people live in the Burnout cycle, not quite reaching the point of full blown Burnout, and some keep repeating the crash and burn Burnout cycle over and over again.

So how can it happen again?

Why does the cycle often repeat itself?

And quite frankly, why don't people just learn their lesson?

I am a repeat offender.  My first Burnout made me seriously ill.  My second almost killed me.  And still I I know that I could reach Burnout again.

My biggest fear is that I wouldn't be able to survive Burnout number three.  And this fear in itself isn't really helpful, because at times I hold myself back, and in holding back I add to my stress even more, and then, thanks to the Bipolar that my Burnout caused, I can quickly spiral into a pretty dark or manic place.

For these reasons alone, I do NOT recommend Burnout to anyone.

It is not a trendy badge to wear.

It is not a sign of success.

It doesn't mean you're amazing, or a superstar, and it doesn't mean you're incredible at your job.

Even though most of the time it's the over-achieving, engaged, committed and passionate perfectionists who reach Burnout.

Note that I've said over-achiever not high-performing.

True high-performance is sustainable, and it includes doing the deep work on yourself, and looking and going within, it involves sleep, and nourishment and hydration and rest and ways to restore your energy.

Toxic over-achieving is about push hard, work hard, sleep when you're dead, keep going at all costs, do not rest, do not switch off, and do not collect £200 when you pass go.

And this, is very often the distinction which causes people to keep cycling over and over again.

The world of work is too focused on over-achieving, not high-performance.

Most organisations are pushing people toward burnout instead of moving them toward wellbeing, and both Burnout and wellbeing are the outcomes of how you do everything.  They are not a tick-box, one and done initiative that you just throw money at and hope for the best.

Anyone who focuses on high-performance prioritises the rest and the recovery and the down time and the self-awareness and the self-discovery and the self-care just as much, and often more than the actual doing.

Roger Black, an Olympic Athlete, and I both qualified as Executive Coaches with the AoEC (the Academy of Executive Coaching) and Roger spoke often about the coaches he'd worked with to help him at the Olympics.  The only Coach who helped him succeed in winning a medal was the one who helped him with his mindset, not the ones who made him push harder and work harder.

Andy Murray when coming back from his first hip surgery praised yoga for his speedy recovery, the slow and deliberate practice helped not only his body, but his mindset and willingness to succeed.

Many CEOs love a sports analogy don't they, but usually only the stories about pushing on, digging deep and doing whatever it takes to get the job done.  The stories about slowing down, tuning in and prioritising rest are ignored, and often because they don't have the same cut-throat 'recipe for success'.

Denise Duffield-Thomas and Jamie Kern-Lima talk a lot about their experiences with Burnout, specifically when it came to building their multi-million-pound businesses, and how they realised what was important the most, and how changing their tactics was key to success.

Burnout will keep happening until we change what needs to change or learn what needs to be learned.

For those of us who have experienced Burnout, we know that changes were needed, and we stay focused on maintaining those changes and making the ongoing and necessary improvements.

The world of work will have us pushing harder, unless we create the change.  We've been told and taught and conditioned to believe that busy, stress and burnout are the holy grail of success - they aren't. 

And in reality nobody wants their gravestone to read 'kept working hard'.

The toxicity of the word hard play hard mentality is killing us.

Sustainable high-performing needs sustainable and high-performance habits, which include rest, and thinking time and moving our bodies, and getting outside, and paying attention and tuning in, and sleeping and staying hydrated and nourished.

Busy and stressed create negativity, a lack in creativity, poor motivation and poor decision making.

Space and calm create intellectual thinking, positivity, innovation and great decisions.

The more we stay in the stressed and busy mind, the less likely we are to be able to identify the changes needed - so we keep going round in circles each time hoping for a different result.

If we truly want to eradicate Burnout we need to:

• Create calm and space - for our bodies and minds - particularly our nervous system
• Prioritise our sleep - the best way to empty our stress bucket
• Release toxic and negative thoughts, patterns and behaviours
• Know and understand who we are at our core, our true self, and live in a way that is aligned to our values, strengths, passions and drivers.

Burnout number one will be tough, Burnout two even tougher, and I don't ever want to be able to tell you about Burnout three!

Kelly

P.S Have you preordered your copy of F*ck Burnout: Why we need to call BS on Workplace Wellbeing to finally Banish Burnout?  Get yours here