How to regain balance and avoid burnout
Today I found myself feeling stuck. I was focusing on things that, to me, don’t matter the most.
I’d been sick last week with an ear and sinus infection. While I had almost fully recovered, the house had not. I felt like I just couldn’t get the home reset, and that I couldn’t focus on the people around me until order had been reestablished.
I was out of balance, burnt out, and needed a way to refocus on what was most important to me. I opened Dr. Daniel Amen’s book “Healing the Hardware of the Soul” and found what I needed.
Here’s one way to become more self-aware and spend your energy on goals that are important to you:
1. Take a piece of paper and write these four headings and subheadings:
- Relationships (spouse, children, family, friends)
- Work/Finances (current, future, finances)
- Self (physical health, emotional health, interests, intellectual growth
- Soul (spirit, relationship with God, character)
2. Next to each subheading, decide what is important to you in each area. Write what you want (not what you don’t want or what you think someone else wants for you!) Be positive and use the first person. For example, next to “children” you might write “I want an active, loving relationship with my children. I am involved in their lives and listen to their ideas, wants, and needs. I notice their good behavior. I am firm and fair with them.”
3. Keep the first draft (you’ll want to update it frequently) somewhere you see it daily. The bathroom mirror is a good place. Read it daily. Now every day you’ll have a way to focus on what’s important to you.
Burnout happens when our lives become unbalanced and we overextend ourselves in one area while ignoring another.
Let’s take a closer look at all areas of our lives and be more intentional about spending our time and energy on what really matters.