Burnout is a familiar state for most passionate and determined people.
Burnout is a familiar state for most passionate and determined people.
You’re here for a reason.
You have a strong passion to serve and a vision that you passionately care about.
It feels like you are always in need of more hours in the day and more energy to do ALL THE THINGS.
This vision might be pursued through…
…your profession,
your relationships,
creative projects,
activism to create real change.
You might be juggling commitments in all these areas at once. There are so many things to do, places to be, and causes to care about that you honestly don’t understand how people can walk around feeling satisfied rather than driven to do more.
What is Burnout?
It feels like perpetual exhaustion. We know we’ve pushed limits a few times too many and we feel the cost of that. What used feel fulfilling is now just a slog, and a frustrating brain fog takes over. You’re no less determined or committed, but you hit an internal brick wall when you try to move forward.
Burnout isn’t an individual problem. It’s created by a culture that holds impossible standards of perpetual growth, earning and producing, but doesn’t remember or value what we are supposed to be growing, earning and producing for.
Passionate, determined, highly capable people can easily find themselves sucked in by systems that use their drive and enthusiasm at the expense of their own wellbeing.
I help passionate and multipassionate people identify and dismantle the cultural drivers of burnout so they can serve their big visions more sustainably.
i offer the following ways to work with me around burnout
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Each month I take a deep dive into one aspect of resisting burnout.
Monthly Deep Dive Letters name cultural dynamics that generate burnout and open doors to imagining how we might do things differently. For examples of what I write about, take a look at the blog.
No productivity tips, and no motivational pep-talks. Just in depth, thoughtful content to support you in resisting burnout culture. You’ll also be notified of new events and programs.
Burnout Articles
Burnout is not an individual problem
Most approaches to combatting burnout treat it as though it’s an individual problem, or worse, an individual failure of character. Burned out people aren’t engaging in proper self care, we’re told. [read more]
We’re Encouraged to Medicate Burnout
Several years ago, a manager who was hoping to talk me out of quitting a company whose culture was becoming more toxic by the day told me he had given up on trying to advocate for most of the things that make people feel appreciated: better pay, better benefits, or more resources. [read more]
An Anti-Burnout Holiday Strategy
By the time this month’s article hits your inbox, we will have been in the ever-expanding Christmas season for many months. My local grocery store began displaying Christmas items in October, which showed some restraint, actually, since Home Depot had Christmas decorations out in August. [read more]
The Problem with Aspirational Scheduling (and Stretch Goals)
“…We’ve been granted the mental capacities to make almost infinitely ambitious plans, yet practically no time at all to put them into action.” Oliver Burkeman, Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals [read more]
What If You’re Doing Way More Than You Think?
“Part of the reason an ad man like Don Draper in Mad Men was able to take naps and be creative all day was because he had a secretary doing all the paperwork and meeting-setting and telling him where to be and when. He just thought big thoughts.” – Anne Helen Petersen, “The Expanding Job” [read more]
When You’re Burned Out Because You Care
I originally became interested in burnout by working with activists. St. Louis has been home to a new era of civil rights activism since 2014, and in my psychotherapy practice, I’ve worked with many people involved in social justice campaigns who have faced arrest, violence, job loss, and more because of their involvement with social justice [read more]
