Thinking Thursday
Refresh & Renew
I was twenty-six years old. We were trying to raise $5MM in Venture Capital. It wasn’t unusual for me to sleep on the couch outside my office. In fact, I wore my same, wrinkled clothes like a badge of honor the following day. For weeks on end, I proudly ground out 100+ hour work weeks. Weeks turned into months.
Months turned into me being an idiot.
It all caught up to me. It was Valentine’s Day. I felt like I was having a heart attack. And, it wasn’t because I didn’t have a date. Although, frankly, I didn’t have a date.
I laid on the gurney with electrodes on my chest. I began to count the dots on the standard, industrial grade ceiling tiles. I thought, “What the %##^} have I done to myself?”
Burnout is real.
Everything in your life suffers when you are facing burnout: relationships, quality of decisions, clarity of thought, engagement for creativity and, most obviously, your health gives way to make you stop.
What have I learned over my career? There are two key aspects of avoiding burnout.
In the daily grind, you must intentionally carve out moments to “Refresh.” Sit quietly. Read. Talk a walk in the woods. Jam out to a favorite station. Meditate. Pray. No matter the activity, you must learn to “be still amid the chaos.”
And over the longer haul, you must take days away to “Renew.” Vacation days exist for a reason. Duh! As someone who proudly and regularly proclaimed, “Yeah, I didn’t use all my vacation again this year.” Now, I think how stupid I sounded. Really what I was saying was, “I’m an idiot. My company tried to invest in me and I declined the opportunity to be more effective.” And for the select few of you who have vacation time, but bosses or companies who will not allow you to use it – or worse – you feel like you “can’t leave the office” then you are in a toxic workplace. Re-evaluate your situation and take your vacation anyway. There is lots of research that demonstrates the value of time off. Message me if you want it.
Ultimately, to unlock your best world, you must stop and take breaks to refresh & renew.
What magical things do you do to refresh & renew?
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