How are you holding up living in inflation nation?
Do you feel like you just ate a giant bowl of capitalism crunch?
Did you sleep last night or did you stress & scroll?
Is your body working like a finely tuned instrument, or like a kid learning to play the recorder?
More cooked than a corporate casserole?
Eating a slice of infrastructure crumble pie?
How is your fried brain? Better with added “catch up” on the menu?
Sick of (gesticulates hands and waves around) all of this?
Are you starving for an ounce of compassion?
Are any of these dishes the one you are currently cooked in? If so, welcome to burn out. You are so not alone.*
*Note to self, and anyone else who needs it.
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Your body is backed up with so. much. bullshit.
The recipe: a splash of stimulation, not intimidation. You need a reboot, a sabbatical, and some government money sprinkled on top. Unfortunately The Powers That Be don’t have the ingredients. Would they share if they did? Remember, The Powers That Be are Takers, not Givers. And in case you hadn’t heard, “The pandemic is over.”
We can go down with this ship, but why? Why choose to remain trapped in golden handcuffs and work ethic that says “Do, and then die” instead of “Do less, and live well”? Instead of fighting being underrepresented, unionize. Instead of taking a break someday, finalize. Instead of “have to” — prioritize.
We don’t “complain”; we criticize. The system is broken. Don’t let the collapse of all things force you to fold under the weight.
Don’t put pressure on yourself to do more; you do plenty. Collapse isn’t the only option; you can opt out. Don’t do it all. Take a break. Hell, turn the lights out, sign out, hit silent, delete distractions, throw your phone across the room.
Try something different — what we tell ourselves we’ll do next [week, month, decade], what we all keep saying we all need to do, what we tell each other to do — Take care of yourself.
Worried you’ll fall behind? Have FOMO for everything? Hot tip: You are not missing out on anything. Nothing matters more than you do — a whole, recovered, rested human. If FOMO or “The Market” are making you push beyond a health limit, you will miss out, on your one unique life.
Despite what our mother’s said, we can’t sleep when we’re dead, but lack of sleep will kill us. Not everything is meant for you anyway, and you are not meant for everyone. Choosy moms choose JIF: just ignore facebook.
You can’t get into flow when depleted. Hell you can’t even get in the mood when you’re out of gas. If you can barely swallow another headline, especially if you’re drained from all the things, you need rest to fuel back up. Stop running on fumes. Stop running period.
On empty, you’re still enough. You deserve to feel full, replete with energy from sustenance of inspiration, manifestation, and oxytocin. You deserve care. I am not going to espouse self-care or self-love when you feel your most shitty. You don’t need one more thing for the shopping list, (even if it sounds good).
Love can be powerful, and powerfully draining too. You can love yourself when you have capacity. If you are like most humans on earth, you don’t have any right now. So, instead of trying to love yourself, try giving yourself kavod (dignity, honor, and respect).
At the end of the day, there is no catching up. It will never happen, ever. So slow the fuck down, and breathe. Need one more reason? We can’t build the Future of Work if we keep using their playbook. The Future of Work does not work without us.
At the end of the day, there is no catching up.
Even the sun goes down, for half the day, so we don’t see it but it’s there, radiating and glowing. Close your eyes; listen to music; put on your favorite sweats; and log off. Stay hydrated. Go take a nap. Recharge.
Your burn rate should not equal full burn out. Your labor is not a favor. Workers rights include the right to opt out of work. Period.
If “The Economy” is the globe and earth’s OS, just remember you, my dear tired-but-shiny one, are complete as is. You power this thing. You are the goddamn sun. Don’t worry about going down. We’ll see you when you rise…and you always do.**
**Read that again.
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Recovering from toxic workplace burnout? Check out the FLOWLab and join an entrepreneurial peer community of practice. Need support now? coFLOWco serves small businesses in need of transformation and founders in need of recuperation. Because…the patriarchy isn’t going to fix itself.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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Photo credit: Photo by author; “Sunset in Gearhart”