Remaining Positive About Self-Improvement

5 things you can do to avoid burnout in your journey to success

You get promises of success every day if only you took up these habits or took yourself out of your comfort zone. You must adopt a certain attitude in order to feel fulfilled and succeed in life, or you will fail.

“If you want to be happy, you have to just be happy”, is one of the most inspiring sentences I’ve read, time and time again, yet to some, including me sometimes, it’s a slap in the face.

Some people say it’s all a load of bull. I myself have believed that as I’m a natural sceptic. My parents brought me up to question literally everything I see right in front of me, so I naturally do that.

After reading hundreds of articles about hustling, you’re pumped. And then you’ll read the odd one that trumps the whole idea of becoming successful and you feel deflated again.

How do you know what’s right? Who do you listen to?

I don’t have anything against those who write “how to’s” and listicles on succeeding and achieving goals. I, myself, have done it. I also root for those who don’t agree with the “buzz words” of hustling because they bring up some good arguments.

If you get stuck into hustling you may just lose focus and burnout, as author Avery Strange points out in her very good article “Hustling” is a Lie”. I know because I felt the signs of burnout myself, just weeks ago, which led me to reel myself in emotionally and do some hard thinking about what I want in life and how to get there. Two good articles came out of it, “How I Grind”, and “When You Can’t Sleep, Try This”, along with some lifestyle changes. It didn’t mean that hustling equalled burning out. It meant I had to take a little break and reset.

This is what I can suggest to avoid burnout and give you the best chances to succeed.

Remember Why You Have Goals

What do you want? Why do you want it?

Whatever your hopes and dreams are, they’re to give you an experience.

They are there to help you reach, sustain and increase your feeling of happiness and fulfilment.

But the process of achieving goals should be fun too.

If you don’t feel excited about your goals anymore because the process is daunting to you, something has to change. I’m not saying you should give up, by no means. I am saying that your attitude may need a tweak, and there are many many tricks you can use to feel motivated again. That may be in the form of podcasts, changing your sleep routine, or working for one hour less per day and doing something new in that hour. Something which eases some of the pressure you are giving yourself. Because that’s the catch — it is you who allows any feeling, including the feeling of deflation or demotivation, and it is therefore up to you to fix it.

Look for Progress

I mentioned the fact that the process of achieving your goals should be fun. But, let’s face it, we sometimes get a little lazy or we begin to see things through our negativity lens and fail to see results.

There is actually progress wherever you look. You may not have written your desired 2000 words a day, but you had a great idea. You may not have got the attention of the King of Medium Ayodeji Awosika yet but you made a new connection on one of Facebook’s Medium groups who genuinely wish you success. Maybe you’re feeling pessimistic about your article ideas but you received a really nice response to an old one.

Silver linings aren’t obvious to the sceptic. It took a huge bit of practice for me. I’m taking the necessary steps I can today to help me take the next steps in the future. Which brings me to my next point.

See the Hidden Opportunities

Your days are filled with opportunities. But we don’t know how big those opportunities will be. Some may seem tiny but end up being the groundbreaking thing you needed to go viral. Some may lead to nothing other than a lesson learned. Whatever it is you’re drawn to, take the sign.

For example, I recently discovered Quora through another Medium article, but I didn’t think much about it at the time.

Then I read about Quora somewhere else, which led me to go on the site and see what it’s about. I quickly got distracted and went about my day, but then I saw an advertisement for Quora again a couple of days later. The power of cookies is real, but I also like to see it as a sign, a new opportunity to increase my writing platforms and improve on myself.

It may come to nothing, or it may be what helps me establish myself in the writing scene. Either way, it is an opportunity to create more content, which is my aim. So I downloaded the app and I am slowly getting to know it.

Take the opportunity to explore something new, you have nothing to lose.

Own Your Attitude

If you wake up every day feeling anxious and nervous about the day ahead to the point you feel dread, something has to change.

Don’t give up just yet, though.

I believe that if there is no fear, there is no progress. Fear is completely inevitable and a part of life. But it is not yours. It doesn’t define you. You just have to change your relationship with fear. It is genuinely worried for you, giving you the warning bells and doubting signs.

You have to realise that the negative feeling tends to be exaggerated and we overestimate the likelihood of a negative outcome. We also tend to think that good outcomes only happen out of luck. We have to switch our attitude towards those feelings around and lean towards positivity more than negativity.

You choose what you think about. You choose to think positively or negatively.

You choose how you want to feel when you engage with whatever feeling you have.

You Are Right

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t — you’re right.”― Henry Ford

The power of our mind is incredible. It’s one of the few free things you’re given at birth, so utilise it with all your might and you will achieve whatever you focus on, including failure, and success. So, decide now what you will focus on.

Last Words

Only you can decide whether to buy into all of the self-improvement stuff. The thing is, whatever you believe, it is right.

So why not give it a try since you have nothing to lose? Choose a side hustle, get creative, and try believing in yourself. Do it on your own terms, and do everything you can to make sure you enjoy the journey.

“You never fail until you stop trying.”― Albert Einstein

Sylvia Emokpae, thinker and philosopher, is passionate about self-love, motherhood, and pro-race. See more work like this.