The 2nd law of burnout
Bust your energy suckers
When are you burnt out? It is a question I get quite often. You have the state of 'Buying milk feels like a two hour boot camp workout', but when I was diagnosed with burnout this is not how I felt. Fortunately, I was able to do sports, go on a holiday and even 4 am parties were part of my weekly routine. The danger of getting burnt out is that we exhaust our bodies until we get a clear warning sign. Being tired becomes part of our normal state, we think regular illnesses are solved with just taking half days off and catching up on sleep is only done during our holidays. Our highs don't feel as high anymore, our lows not as low. Our feelings become numb. Unless our body pulls the plug, we treat it as a second hand car: It's a waste to invest in maintenance, it gets the job done, so we just run it until it dies. Doing some personal research, I believe that burnout is all about energy balance. Read here how to prevent burnouts based on my experience.
Keep your personal power bank charged
The 2nd law of energy states that one form of energy converts into another form. Like your bank account, you have an income of energy. This could be having a good night of sleep, hanging out with friends, doing sports or any other activity that gives you energy. With this income you withdraw that energy from your power bank. It is important that you keep a balance between your income and expenditure. Preferably, all your energy income will be used to create new energy. However, like investments, not all energy will generate new income of energy. We've all been in a situation where you trusted someone with your time and energy, but happened to take advantage of you. Occasionally, there will also be times where you lose your energy towards things you dislike and are inescapable, such as cleaning your shower drain or dealing with haters at work. To ensure that you have enough on your bank for these energy suckers, you need to gain energy for your savings account. Lesson to be learned: 1) Invest your energy wisely and 2) harvest more energy for times when you need it the most.
Become a ghostbuster
Some things in life will always be there to drain our energy, but you'd be surprised how many things you can eliminate. Society taught us to fit in and no one likes to be the ugly duckling. Remember the days when Britney's 'Hit me baby one more time' just hit the charts. You'd get punished for not doing your homework and bullied when you couldn't pull off that crop top. Our upbringing, such as school and our parents, gave us rules to survive in society. Now, we are old enough to make our own rules and to enjoy life. We don't need approval from everyone and there is no test to fail anymore. It's time to eliminate our energy suckers! Why hang out with people that clearly don't care about you? Why not hire a cleaner when you hate doing the dishes? Life is too short to deal with things that drain our energy. Allow yourself to enjoy by making your life easy, because the more you let go, the higher you rise.
Where to start? Instead of checking your Facebook when you're in the little room, take 30 seconds to think about how you feel. Do I feel energized? What gave me energy today and where did I lose it? Acknowledge your feelings, take baby steps to fill your life with energy boosters and you're on your way to take charge of your life!