Five Steps to Banish Burnout
The first step, of course, is to set out. But when you are burned out, this is not so simple. “Burnout: to burn until extinguished by want of fuel.” Yup. When you’re burned out, it feels like there’s no fuel for change. Here are some quotes from real women- strong and amazing women who you probably know:
“All the things I am supposed to do are sucking the life out of me.”
“My sense of purpose is shifting and changing- it’s not what I thought it was. I need to listen to myself and not allow others’ ideas of “normal” to dictate my purpose.”
“I am overworking and burning out, trying to balance work and feeling guilty."
When this happens, there are many things you can do. Dance parties help. Anything you love or that makes you laugh- good art, bad cat videos, Cards Against Humanity- those things can help you get through the day, which is no small thing when you’re burned out.
Me with two pals playing Cards Against Humanity over Labor Day Weekend.
Those things help! And, to go from burned out to burning bright again, there are two things that I’ve seen to be essential:
You must take a step outside the familiar world where the fire has died. (And grieve what is lost.)
You must be willing to hope that change is possible. (I know it is so vulnerable to hope when you feel numb or dead inside. If you do feel this way, please message me or comment below.)
It helps to remember that the fire that has gone out is not your fire. I know this helps because I’ve seen it in hundreds of clients and students and because when I posted a Facebook live about it a couple weeks ago, I got a DM from a friend I hadn’t heard from so many years that she started with “You may not even remember me at this point.” She went on to say,
“Your story popped into my feed. Wow! It’s life saving stuff you’re putting out there. I watched it four times. Exactly what I needed to hear, such a fresh perspective and reminder of my strength gone by but not lost. “
If you are burned out, you need a hope and a map and also some fun. I find stories fun and also effective, especially for progressive leaders because politics is storytelling and when leaders take control of their own stories, they light up again. To help banish burnout, I’ve chosen a particular teaching story, an old Russian fairytale from before colonial, white, hetero-patriarchy. This story was whispered from grandmother to granddaughter in the most oppressive times. It is a guide to retrieving lost fire when the hearth is cold. It contains five lessons, which I have named based on ten years of coaching progressive leaders and 20+ years in our movement. Those lessons are:
F. The Fire You Seek. You need clarity on the ways that moving up made you play small, and you need to remember and get excited about what burning bright again looks like for you. (Even if that’s hard to feel that right now.)
L. Leadership Lineage: You have a leadership lineage. Knowing it and naming it gives you access to your teachers, your values, and your “truth tell”- the signal that tells you when you are listening to your inner wisdom– instead of the inner critic. In any room.
A. Alchemy in the Dark. Making decisions in times of uncertainty is one of the hardest and most stressful parts of leadership. I’ll teach you how to make in-the-moment decisions you can trust that alchemize your gifts into new leadership gold, even in times of great uncertainty. Whether you are dealing with difficult staff issues or privileged donors or unexpected crises, It feels great to know how to move forward instead of getting stuck in the dark!
M. Make Time Magic. How’s your calendar? Feel spacious and supportive of your best work? Or like a squeeze that never ends? The way you spend your time is where burnout lives and you’ll banish it by learning how to make time for what really matters. (Hear a voice that says this is impossible? That voice will never let you change.)
E. Emerge Together. You have done this whole journey with a circle of other women and non-binary leaders also doing brave, life-changing and burnout-banishing work. Now, you emerge together from the journey strong, clear and connected as you practice leading a life and work that you love.
F is for fire, for the willingness to seek your spark when all feels dead. This is how the old story that is our map begins. This is how your new story begins. If you want to take this journey, check out my workshop: Banish Burnout with Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave. Registration is open now.