You may have noticed some changes on the blog. My writing has been a little less than consistent, even though I’ve preached consistency for years.
But something happened recently.
I believe I faced/am facing burnout.
Yes, you can face burnout even for something you love. The cause of it may not be the actual act of doing the thing. The cause can be external factors.
- Maybe your health hasn’t been the best and your mental state isn’t in the right place
- Maybe you’ve struggled with feeling good enough and doubt has crept in
- Maybe you feel you should see better results but they’re not there
Sometimes, the cause of burnout isn’t the actual work. But sometimes the answer is taking a breather from what you love.
Take A Breather
There’s been a lot going on in my life lately. We experienced the loss of my mother-in-law in a very short period of time. Work has been a bear to deal with. I was training for the Tokyo Marathon (I did complete it!).
Through all of this, I let my writing fall behind. My backlog of content quickly disappeared. I didn’t have any new content lined up.
I had a decision to make.
Do I let the blog die a slow death? Do I let the content run out and be done with it? Or… Do I do something else? Do I take a breather? Do I reassess what I’m doing and see how I can make it less burdensome?
I chose the latter option. I chose to take a breather.
While Pam and I were in Tokyo for 2 weeks, I didn’t do anything for the blog. Well, maybe I did do something: I watched multiple movies on the flight to Tokyo. Some of those movies will make it into Reel Leadership articles to help you discover the leadership lessons those movies contain.
I rested. I tried to restore my love for writing. And it helped.
When I took a breather from writing consistently, I believe I may have refound my voice. My desire to write and create.
Here’s what happens when you take a breather:
- You’re able to reevaluate what’s important: I was able to see that I did enjoy writing. I may not have missed it as I did in the past, but there was a desire to continue moving forward. Writing is important to me. When you take a breather, you can discover whether or not the activity you took a breather from is important to you.
- You’re able to refocus: Our focus can become clouded when we’re so focused on the task that we never rest from it. When you take a breather, you’re able to breathe a little easier. You’re able to find yourself a peace that may have been missing. You’re able to find focus where there was none.
- You’re able to make better decisions: The pressure to keep moving at breakneck speed can lead you to make poor decisions. When you rest, you’re able to come back clear-minded. Focused. A better decision maker
Don’t be afraid to take a breather. You need time to collect yourself, your thoughts, and your energy.
You’ll not only be better for taking the time to breathe, but your people will also be too. They’ll have a better, refreshed leader who’s better able to lead them.
Take that breather.
