When you are burned out, you are tired physically. But mentally, you are also full of pain, anxiety, sometimes anger, aren’t you? One of my friends just wrote today, that she was thinking of getting a medical leave. But she could not, because her boss refused it. She was filled with anger. Because she thought her boss was one of the reasons for her burnout. She was also feeling desperate in a situation she did not know how to get out.
Our negative feelings eat out our energy.
You got it, these close companions are never helpful. How to overcome these feelings?
I will cut it short and tell you immediately: Meditation. Meditation was one of the best friends that accompanied me during my most difficult periods.
You might be afraid of meditation, but…
Is that this complicated and “mystery” thing, that only Buddist monks and nuns can do, by sitting hours in uncomfortable positions?
Oh, not at all. Mediation is the simplest thing in the world. You just take a time to be with yourself, listen to your feeling, and feel your body. It’s an intimacy with yourself that you might not feel in your daily activities.
Your next question might be: But I don’t want to face my pain. I’ve had enough of it. I want rather to escape.
My question to you is: where you will go to escape it?
Learn how easy it is
Take some time today, sit quietly in a calm place. Wear comfortable clothes. Close your eyes. And start to pay attention to your breath.
Tell yourself: “When I breathe in, I know that I am breathing in”. And really mean it. Know that you are breathing in. Feel the air that gets in and out from your chest.
A few seconds after, tell yourself: “When I breathe out, I follow my breath until the end”. And do it. Follow your breath until its end. Slowly. Mindfully. Do this in around 5 to 10 minutes.
Tomorrow, write to me and tell me how you feel.
We are very afraid of facing our pains. With mediation, I learned how to make friends with them. Just by breathing in, breathing out mindfully, I made myself aware that I was with pains. I know they had got in me, but would get out, same as my every breath.
Does it not remind us of the saying of Thich Nhat Hanh? “When we give ourselves the chance to let go of all our tension, the body’s natural capacity to heal itself can begin to work“.
Meditation helped me overcome burnout and many more in life. Today, I am joyful than ever. And I have the energy to be with my children and restart a business I love. Would you give it a try?
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