4 Ways To Prevent Burnout, Overwhelm and Anxiety Courtesy of Lewis Howes

Brian Korczynski
Aug 31, 2018 · 3 min read

I’ve been feeling insanely stressed out and burnt out lately. Part of it is the usual anxiety and things I battle but some of it is just part of being in sales and the daily grind.

That being said, a Lewis Howes podcast came at the perfect time and offered just the right reminders to get back on track.

In it, he goes over five phases you can implement right away to get back on track and prevent burnout, anxiety and overwhelm.

Phase 1:

Get back to your why — why am I doing what I’m doing? What is it all for?

It can be easy to forget your why with the day in and day out. Being in sales, I’m head down everyday just trying to hit a number.

If you can step back and remind yourself of your overall goal, it will give you the necessary perspective to push through.

He notes it’s important to ask yourself the following question:

Is it still making it happy and part of my long term legacy?

If it is, remind yourself and get back on track. If not, it may be time to look at what you’re doing and potentially make changes.

Phase 2:

Create anchors in your life. These are non negotiables that will be done everyday. You don’t need to do all of the below but choose 3–5.

  • Non negotiable wake up and sleep times
  • Daily workout
  • Make your bed
  • Meditation, prayer, or self reflection time
  • Clean eating
  • Walking outside — leave your phone at home and get outside
  • Sunshine — 10 to 20 minutes a day
  • Connect with a friend
  • Do something FUN

Phase 3:

Reflect and celebrate wins on a daily and weekly level.

Write down 3 things you’re grateful and celebrate those things. EVERYDAY.

This can be hard sometimes. I’ve been there at the end of a shit day and don’t want to write anything. But even the smallest reminders of gratitude can shift your mindset.

Got up and worked out for 15 minutes? Write it down. Literally anything will do. The key is just writing them down.

There is a great journal by best self co. that makes it easy to do this in the morning and night while offering other space to manage your day.

Phase 4:

Talk about it and let it out!

Holding it in never helps. Sharing always allows it to pass through.

If that is a trusted friend or colleague, sit down and talk to them. You can’t keep things bottled up because they will explode in the long run.

Another great resource is a therapist. Finding the right therapist to see on an ongoing basis or just when you need to talk could be one of the best decisions of your life. It was for me.

There doesn’t always need to be a negative connotation to it either. People don’t want to talk about mental health and it makes it worse in the long run. When you sit down and talk through things with someone that knows how to help it can be just what you needed and give you the right perspective to pull through.

Lewis didn’t talk about this last one specifically but I was able to listen to that podcast and write this today by taking a personal day and stepping back. Sometimes you need to step back and take a rest. Especially if you are in a high energy career like sales or entrepreneurship. It helps you take a step back and is just what’s needed some times.

Listen to the full podcast here: https://lewishowes.com/podcast/how-to-manage-anxiety-burnout-and-overwhelm/