Why Do we Burn Out?
And how to prevent it
Burnout is a state of emotional, mental and physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress.
We all have unknowingly experienced burnout at some point in our lives. When I was learning about burnout through books and articles, I felt shocked that it happened to me not once but multiple times and I was unaware of it.
The most prominent occurrence of burnout in my life was related to studies. I was preparing for an exam that would be held after two years. I studied very hard for that exam for the initial first year.
I was preparing for exams such that I used to take my books to dinner, lunch, and breakfast. Then I would simultaneously eat as well as study for that exam.
As the initial year was about to end, my intensity of studying reduced to just a couple of hours. I realized that I was expecting joy from my studies and the outcomes of good marks. Making this expectation as motivation to study worked only for a short period as I became aware of the fact that even good marks in exams would not bring me the joy that I was expecting.
I regained the intensity of study I used to do by increasing my interest in the subjects I was doing by involving the knowledge I was studying in my daily life activities, my mind would completely dissolve in studies. Now I was not trying to motivate myself by glorifying the outcomes of having good marks in exams.
The person getting the expected outcome from their work can never face burnout. A poor person with no connection to drinkable tap water goes to the market daily to bring a water tank.
But that person would never burn out from bringing a tank of home. The reason is that the person was expecting water to quench people’s thirst and this expectation is possible.
People burn out only when they are not getting the expected outcome from the work they are doing. The expected outcome could be anything like wealth, prosperity, or satisfaction. But all the expectations have the end goal of achieving satisfaction and joy.
To prevent burnout, have an understanding of what the work you are doing is capable of giving you in return, this will also prevent you from over-expecting from something or someone.
As you will see the limitations of the work, you will feel hopeless that your work cannot give you the joy that you were expecting. To learn more about joy, you can click here.
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