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Can’t take any more. . .
“I don’t know if I can take any more of this. I’ve reached burnout, and I don’t know what I’m going to do next. I’ve got no direction.”
My client’s voice quavered a bit as she described her frustrations at work, and a vacuum where her social life should be. “By the time I get home I’m exhausted, and I just want to eat and go to sleep.”
Many of my clients come to me in the same state of mind as Nancy. They come to me looking for hope. Somewhere along the line the work they’re doing has gotten muddied with excessive demands from the boss or with regulations, and the good intentions they initially brought to their work seem to have gotten derailed.
Sitting in this quagmire, this hole of despair can seem hopeless. And I’d have to say that trying to face it alone will be long and slow slog through to the other side.
When they work with a professional (whether it’s me or another professional), there are systems, processes, tools, and guidance to discover that the other side – peace, energy, prosperity – can be a lot closer than they could ever have imagined.
Only weeks after this initial conversation, Nancy had a different way of describing her current life.
She told me that, while at a company team meeting, someone said to her that she was not the same person. “What happened, Nancy? It’s like, you’re smiling all the time! You’re a different person.” Others chimed in; “Yeah, what have you been doing?”
Nancy said that she’d gotten a new lease on her life. She had come to me with the intent of finding her next career, but she found out that this one had so much to offer. “With the work I’ve been doing with Larry, I’ve discovered what really matters to me and that this job actually embodies the parts of me that I love.” She was surprised at the sound of delight in her own voice. “I’m excited about this coming year, and even with 60 hour weeks ahead, I know how I can show up serving my team energized and at peace. If any of you want to experience that, I’ll give you Larry’s phone number.”
Burnout is not inevitable. It can be reversed.
It’s a New Year. Don’t make a resolution. Do something that will give you results, even if it’s just a “curiosity conversation.” If you’re curious, call me now.
