The F*ck Burnout Blog

12 years ago my body was giving me a lot of signs that something needed to change, and I ignored them all.

Two periods of Burnout, three chronic health conditions, five books, hundreds of talks, and several hundreds of clients later, and I'm still here banging on about Burnout.

And it's getting worse.

I'm often asked, and even did my TEDx about whether I should be even trying to prevent Burnout.  "What if it's the 'awakening' that people need to experience to make the changes that they need to make in their lives". And I get it.

Because I didn't pay attention.  I didn't pay attention the first time, and I didn't pay attention the second time.

I had to go through those two periods of Burnout before I really started to make the change.

And I now believe that I went through those two periods of Burnout so that nobody else needs to.

If I could turn back the clock, I would.  Living with the aftermath of Burnout is not fun.  I live with and manage my conditions as best I can, but some days I still cannot even get myself out of bed.

Some days I can't string a sentence together.

Some days I just don't function.

So it's a catch 22 isn't it.

I had to go through what I went through to be where I am now, and yet being where I am now, I wish I hadn't gone through it - because it's hard.

And I'm not alone.

I receive countless messages each week from people who ignored the signs, who wish they hadn't ignored the signs, who saw the signs clearly and just told themselves they needed to keep on going for the next few weeks - and didn't get that far before the big Burnout crash.

We keep telling ourselves 'soon'.

We'll take the day off, take the break, slow down, stop, get the new job, switch off, take care of ourselves, make the change, SOON - but never today, we're too busy to do it today.

And then we hear talks, or stories, about loss, ill-health, grief, adversity, and we become inspired to change - at least in that moment.  Because once the talk has finished, we're back to our life.

Back to the busyness.

Back to the grind and the hustle.

Back to reality.

And the stress, busyness, under-prioritising ourselves whilst we over-prioritise work, never slowing down, always being on - has become reality hasn't it.

We can't possibly slow down.

The work matters, the pace matters, the stuff matters.

When do YOU matter?

When did scheduling a social media post or replying to an email, or taking a phone call, become more important than YOU?

When did squeezing in that extra meeting, or showing up the party become more important than YOU?

When did the people pleasing, and the perfectionism, and pushing harder become more important than YOU?

We're taught from a really early age right that it's selfish to put yourself first and that pleasing others is more important than taking care of yourself - but what if we've got all of this wrong?

This week I celebrate the launch of my 6th book, F*ck Burnout - because it really is time for change.

It's time to rethink wellbeing at work, because if it really were a priority, Burnout wouldn't be increasing in the way that it is.

It's time to rethink reality and the 'norm'.

It's time to question all the things we've been told are true when it comes to our health and 'busy'.

And it's time to question why Burnout really is rising the way it is.

You do NOT need to reach Burnout before you make a change - that change can start today - and it starts with you.

Kelly

www.kellyswingler.com

Buy your copy of F*ck Burnout here