“Burn-out is a syndrome [which results from] chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”

This is the World Health Organization’s definition of burnout. Well, part of it anyway. There are other elements that I’ll discuss in future posts. I want to focus on this piece first - specifically, the unsuccessful management of stress.

Here’s my experience…

I had a lot of stress in my life. I still do. So do most of us. It’s part of life.

But, I lived with my stress as a badge of honor. I wore it with pride and for a while, thought it was the only way I was going to get noticed as a professional. I was doing my best to get noticed through my lifestyle of stress.

Additionally, it never occurred to me to try to live without stress. To me, stress was a necessary part of life. Stress was my way of showing that I was trying my best and giving it my all.

Point is - I never attempted to manage my stress. And that means that I don’t - that I CAN’T meet the definition of burnout because you can’t unsuccessfully manage something if you never attempted to manage it in the first place.

This is exactly what makes the process of identifying and overcoming burnout so difficult.

Because so many people see their stress as a sign of strength and work-ethic and honor, they never consider attempting to manage it.

Think about it… if you see stress as a tenet of your moral code, you’re not likely to try to change that. You don’t want to go against your moral code and you certainly don’t want to change it.

That's why I continue to preach awareness - and this piece of writing is no different.

If, through this piece of writing, you’re realizing that…

👉 Stress is part of your moral code.

👉 Stress is your lifestyle.

👉 Stress is an illustration of your hard work.

Then it might be time to reconsider the way you live with your stress.

This is not easy. I promise you…

As I write this, I am struggling with the idea of recognizing my past and present stress. By recognizing these things, I feel like I am taking my foot off the gas, and that means I’m not giving my best, and therefore, I am not worthy of the moral code I live by.

See. This is not easy. But if this is making you think, you’re in the right place.

💪 I’ll leave you with a challenge.

I want you to recognize the stress in your life. I want you to honor it and give it space to breathe. I want you to be proud of it and to recognize it for where it’s taken you thus far in life. I want you to see the good in the stress that you have.

But then I want you to recognize the struggles that have been caused by your stress. I want you to see it from another angle - an angle which might serve you in a different way.

Because in order to manage something, you must first recognize its existence. Then you must consider, and then accept, that it might be detrimental to your professional and personal well-being, in addition to being a positive attribute. Then you must see it as a possible problem in your human progression.

Only then you can attempt to manage it.

You have to start somewhere. Now’s the time.

Thanks for being here!

If you find it difficult to acknowledge the stress in your professional or personal life, it might be time to fully assess what's happening.

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