We should never feel bad about burning out.
It’s part of the life experience.
None of us is invulnerable to the emotional exhaustion that comes with the territory of being an entrepreneur. Or an artist. Or a leader. Or a parent. Or a whatever.
Burnout affects everybody, everywhere.
It’s human, it’s healthy, it’s helpful, and best of all, it’s humbling. It’s a reminder that, despite our best efforts, life is a carousel of sugar and shit, not a yellow brick road to happily ever after.
So where we triumph is when we stop trying to run from burnout – or, worse yet, trying to conquer it – and instead, try to recognize it, respect it and reinvest it.
If that means admitting that what once turned our gears feels a bit rusty, so be it. If that means articulating that business isn’t going like gangbusters, so be it. If that means accepting that surf’s up on the waves of anxiety, so be it.
Because no matter how strong, how successful, how creative, how driven, how committed and how supportive we may feel, we can’t outsmart getting tired.
All we can do is stop, breathe, replace guilt with gratefulness, overwhelm fear with faith, smother cynicism with trust, and surround ourselves with people who make us laugh until we pee.
Besides, being burned out is a lot better than having no fire in the fist place.
