Burnout is about more than being overworked, overwhelmed, and emotionally drained. It also presents as a disconnection from work or activities that used to bring you joy. You’ve lost your passion for the work you experience what I call Passion Fatigue.
You may be experiencing Passion Fatigue right now, as this has been a taxing year. Reflect on this do you wake up in the morning ready to go or is it a little harder to get your day going? Are you engaged in your work throughout the day and lose track of time or does the day drag on for you, while you constantly check the clock? If you are feeling as if you are moving through water, as though there is something dragging you back and down. You are probably experiencing Passion Fatigue and burnout.
People especially those in helping professions often describe their work as a calling. I know I have. I have always been drawn to careers and jobs that help others, even when I was waiting tables it presented as a helping job in my mind. How I help others has shifted from non-profit, to student affairs, to burnout recovery coaching. Each time that I have experienced burnout I also found it REALLY hard to connect to the passion that brought me to that career space in the first place.
It seemed that my passion for the work had been stolen and replaced with a sense of burden and dread. That made starting and getting through the day challenging. Not impossible but it took so much more energy because I spent a good chunk of the day convincing myself to move forward on a project, or respond to emails, or set up that meeting with a student. It was different from when I was in my passion place. In my passion place, I wake up excited for the day, time moves quickly, and I close out the workday feeling accomplished with whatever progress I made in the day.
So, how do we regain our passion space? We must address and recover from our burnout. The first step is naming that what we are experiencing is burnout or Passion Fatigue. Next, we have to take a break away from the space that is causing the most burnout. Maybe you can’t take a long break but consider setting a boundary for the end of your workday or the next weekend to intentionally spend some time in your recovery space. Need a reminder on how to build your Recovery Formula? Be sure to read: Passion Wanted: Recovery Formulas. Once you have used some time in recovery, refocus on your preparation plan for the upcoming day, week, month, etc.
Remember that you can both recover from burnout and regain your passion, you do not have to stay stuck in Passion Fatigue.
Not sure where to start with this journey? Sign up for a complimentary 30-minute Wellness Audit with me.
