10 Life Lessons From My Burnout
In 2019 I Burned Out. This Is What I learned
My story
As someone who has always been positive, self-driven and a high performer, I never thought burning out would ever happen to me. It’s one of these things that only happens to others. Yet in 2019, it hit me hard like a high-speed bullet train. It’s wasn’t a big anxiety crisis or a sudden nervous breakdown like most people picture it. Burnouts are scary beasts because they hit you silently, taking one small bite of confidence at a time and when you realize it, you’ve become a shell of the person you used to be.
It’s been 4 years and I have never been happier. Those dark days are behind and if you follow my work here or on LinkedIn, you will see that I’m genuine about motivating others to find their best self. I am fulfilled and my mission is to help others unlock their true potential. I published a book, Conquering Your Burnout, to do so.
10 lessons from a burnout
Looking back at that time of my life with neutral lens, these are the 10 lessons I learned:
- Burnouts can happen to anyone, regardless of confidence, ability or seniority. It’s not a reflection of your weakness but a combination of factors, both external and internal.
- Burnouts are tabu: they are more common than we think but people feel ashamed to speak up. There is nothing to be ashamed of and it’s important to acknowledge it, open up and talk.
- Burnouts blur your mind and judgment: you don’t feel like yourself, you will experience an aggravated imposter syndrome and will doubt your own ability. Remember you are still yourself.
- There is always a way out. When you are in the middle of the storm it’s impossible to see the light. The light is always there, you just need to remove the clouds.
- The answer is change. To overcome a burnout you need to change the environment or change yourself, ideally both. If you keep on doing the same thing in the same place with the same people, things are only going to get worse.
- Quitting is ok when your mental health is at stake. No milestone is worth your wellbeing. People get stuck with the ‘2-year timeline’ but no one cares. The only one counting your days is life.
- Only you can save yourself. You will hopefully have support along the way: your partner, your mentor, your therapist, but the ultimate decision relies on you. Own it.
- This too shall pass. When you are in the middle of a burnout, you have a suffocating sensation that you will always feel that way. You won’t, this is just a phase.
- It takes time to heal: research has proven that it can take over a year get over a burnout. This is personal, but just like any healing, it doesn’t happen overnight and you need to be kind to yourself.
- You will come out of this stronger. The hardest experiences in life are the ones that push us to grow and build strength. Going through a burn out process forces you to reassess your choices, prioritize and stay true to who you really are.
Find the right place
As individuals, we all have value to offer. If you are experiencing a burnout, you feel that no matter what you do, you are not good enough, smart enough, strategic enough.
The best advice I can offer is the following: if you are in a place where people focus on the value you don’t have, keep looking until you find the place where people focus on the value you DO have. If you still don’t find it, go and create that place yourself. I did.
“I write to right” — Veronica Llorca-Smith
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My book ‘Conquering Your Burnout’ is now available on Amazon. Click here to find out more.
