Burnout

Another one with no filter. I can’t resist.

Burnout

Sometimes life gives you lemons. Sometimes, God will hand you a glass of ice water and some sugar too.

Not everything in life turns out perfectly, but sometimes there are small victories amidst the grind. Sometimes they happen to be in the form of being put up at a resort-quality hotel for a few weeks with stellar views while you push through the final days of a really challenging assignment.

I think most people in professional life flirt with burnout at some point, or run into it a few times. After a month or two of clocking more time in your office than out of it, and countless days of working 12-18 hours, picking up dinner on the way out, calling your wife and kids for 5 minutes, crashing for a few hours, and getting up to do it all over again, it catches up. 

This is where perspective, personal and spiritual fortitude, and knowing when to strategically find time to self-invest are vital. If left unchecked, burnout will, well, burn you out.

As leaders, we can’t afford to become apathetic. The mission, whatever it is, must go on, and it needs the heart and soul of everyone on the team. The members of the team will have their ups and downs. Sometimes we carry the burden, sometimes it’s shared or lifted off of our shoulders by our teammates. 

Once it’s time to take a knee, whether for a sunny afternoon or on well-deserved time off with the ones we love, we must do so. We owe it to them and to ourselves. I know my beloved wife has certainly put in the hours, too. 

Pope John XXIII, had a famous evening prayer, simply, “It’s your Church, God. I’m going to bed!”

Well, it’s in Your hands now. I’m going to bed.

-MJVW