Today I want to talk about how you can start pivoting out of your burnout.

First off, I think sometimes in order to break the burnout cycle or at least get it under control, you need to do a 180, meaning, instead of continuing in the direction you’re currently going, you place a hard stop on what you “think” you need to do and start doing the exact opposite.

This requires being brave enough to “break cycles” instead of giving into your biased thinking.

You decide to take or find an entirely different way of going about whatever it is you are facing. Besides Einstein said it best, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

I think one of the first questions you want and need to ask yourself, isn’t a problem-focused one such as “what is causing this to happen?” But a solution-focused question such as, “what is the direction I want to be going?”

It is important to be open to different perspectives and potential action steps, especially when everything you’ve been trying isn’t working. I know we can easily slip into the mindset of “just needing to work harder” but that is what keeps us away from the directions we are needing or craving. I have found the simplest and most effective thing for me to do when I am in this place, leave my old ways of trying to push and force through obstacles I am facing and move towards another direction, that requires less work and less stress!

Let this become an experiment for you!

For example, let’s say, working less (however that looks for you) means your days are shorter, those fewer hours less call for a fewer committees resulting in fewer commitments. Saying no decreases your productivity bias or basis for your compensation.

There are a million different ways to work less, and I know you are probably thinking…”This is great and all but working less means less compensation” which may not seem possible or responsible for you BUT I think, in order to evolve, you have to get creative. Maybe this looks like restructuring your finances and financial commitments to allow for that lower compensation and get out of the burnout trap and off that golden treadmill.

How amazing would it feel to get out of those golden handcuffs or the golden hammer handcuffs attached to the golden treadmill, and allow yourself to explore different direction(s) in your life. Which can potentially open the door for other compensation opportunities that could make up for any loss you’re having from your primary job, and the best part? These opportunities may be things that you have been wanting to do!

Leading you towards the direction that you want to go! Such as writing a blog, teaching, creating something that solves a problem you really care about. The possibilities are endless here and I think, you know, at the end, at the final end of the day, no one ever had carved on their tombstone I wish I had worked more, that has never been something that somebody wanted to say or reflect on looking back on their life.

Find your 180 and take that action to go in the direction that you want to go. And again, that may be, exactly 180 degrees opposite from where you’re going right now. Which is what makes it exciting and fun.

Please know that we are here for you, and don’t hesitate to connect on how burnout recovery could be for you!

~JEFF MOODY, MD