⬆ Check out a short video of the highlights ☝?
Burnout is a result of excessive, prolonged stress. It may have been creeping up you, you didn’t realize things were becoming unmanageable. Probably because you’re a caring, efficient person that knows you are capable of handling all the things.
Burnout’s sneaky...
It shows up as overwhelm, then some resentment. It could look like procrastination or complete loss of interest. Your physical energy might wane, or weird pain starts showing up. Then maybe some emotional disengagement, numbing strategies and depression. Burnout, like it’s cousin ‘stress’, can show up physically, behaviorally, or emotionally. Here are some things that you can do right now.
1.Connect to your Values
Taking time to identify your values shows you what really matters. It’s an encapsulation of what life’s about for you. Anything you’re working on when connected to your values is reinforcing what you know you already want. This is why you don’t want to spend your precious energy on stuff that random other people say is good, important or valuable. It’s a common boundaries-trap that I help my clients navigate all the time.
Connecting to your values is important- even if you’re not connecting them to your passion projects. By the way, ‘Projects’ is a loose word I’m using to describe a journey, a task, a goal. It could be art, getting healthy, or even healing an uncomfortable relationship. Whatever it is, it’s something that you’d get an emotional ‘uplift’ from. If it’s been awhile since you gave any attention to your goal or project, there might be an element of self-talk that interferes , and then you’ll need some encouragement and way more of the next 3 things.
2. Playfulness
Get the eyeroll out of the way now. I’ll wait a tic. The magic of playful practices is mastered by small children. It calls for a specific quality of energy that looks a lot like joyfulness, aliveness and delight. It’s also a healthful diversion for all your pressing concerns.
When you consciously engage this way, you hand over your cares to your Higher Consciousness. That’ll gift you with the extra-sensory ability to tune into your pleasure as you discover the thresholds of your spontaneity and openness.
If you’ve been going at the thing for a long time, try playfulness. If you’ve found yourself striving & trying, there come’s a point where you gotta check in with your perspective. Single pointed-ness in your focus is a powerful thing. True. But it can be disastrous to any real progress if you become too controlling about what that end ‘result’ should look like. Then you lose out on inspiration for something truly innovative and elegant…maybe even, easier.
What if it’s better than you can currently imagine? Just play with that a minute. When you can un-complicate a thing and make it simple, you’re stimulating the genius within. One of my favorite geniuses says;
If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut
Albert Einstein Quoted in Observer, 15 Jan. 1950
3.Rest & Relaxation
This’ll recharge you and your ability to deal with stuff (like commitments, relationships & responsibility) while keeping your mind and body intrinsically connected & healthy. However, what looks like rest for you may be totally different for the next person. For example, resting for me could be; in bed with a book, sitting under a tree with my pup, or on my yoga mat with my spine straight. Conversely, my husband likes to rest on the couch, eyes closed & weird stuff on the TV. See what I mean?
Restfulness can include sight, sound, scent, or some element of tactile coziness. But it can come from the sensory deprivation of those things too. Your magic is unique and beautiful.
Good sleep is also basic human need. In the US there’s approximately 60 million people with chronic sleeping disorders. Sleep’s essential for your ability to learn, focus and remember information.
Scientists at SleepFoundation.org say, ‘while we sleep, memories and skills are shifted to more efficient and permanent brain regions, making for higher proficiency the next day. While you’re sleeping, pieces of knowledge can be pulled together from different experiences and parts of the brain to create novel concepts when you’re trying to solve a problem.”…. or make a serious advance in your work or projects! UC San Diego scientists also found that participants scored 40% better on a creativity test after REM sleep. They figured out that it sparks creative solutions to problems better than any other stage of sleep.
More importantly, sleep helps restore your body’s energy & immune system, repairs your muscle tissue and triggers the release of helpful hormones that make you feel good.. I have a bunch of fun processes to get you there in the Sanctuary. One client said…..
Had fun and I feel great. [finally] slept like a baby!
Sister Goddess E.L.
Harvard Health did some neuro-imaging and neuro-chemistry studies that say sleep helps with both mental and emotional resilience. You’ll need that too, if you want to enjoy your growth process. Another study cited in The Huffington Post found that “Those who didn’t sleep well exhibited more signs of skin aging including fine lines, uneven pigmentation and reduced skin elasticity.” They also said that quality sleep makes you quick to recover from stressors to the skin such as sun and environmental toxins…Remember, looking good can make you feel good too. So get some beauty rest.
4. Self Care Rituals
Rituals free up your brain to do more clever, complex work. They motivate and move us too. When you ritualize your self care, you go into a type of auto-pilot that’s actually helpful. I’ve created a list of 7 ritual sacred practices that I love, and every one of them has beneficial side effects.
A ritual is the enactment of a myth. And, by participating in the ritual, you are participating in the myth. And since myth is a projection of the depth wisdom of the psyche, by participating in a ritual, participating in the myth, you are being, as it were, put in accord with that wisdom, which is the wisdom that is inherent within you anyhow. Your consciousness is being re-minded of the wisdom of your own life. I think ritual is terribly important.
Joseph Campbell
When you get some rituals into your day, you can stay calm when you’re under intense pressure. Making it easier and more fun to get what you really want out of life…or at least feel good while you plot and plan it all out.
You can reach your goals even when you’re distracted or preoccupied with other things.
This requires that you explore the types of things that feel good to you, the stuff you love and value most, and incorporate that into your day.
If you’re looking for an even simpler, tailored-to-you solution, plus on demand sacred practices, you could visit the Virtual Sanctuary , 24/7.