“Burned out” – all of us can relate to that feeling at some point in our careers and lives. In those “burned out” periods we feel overwhelmed, exhausted, anxious and stressed. Stick a fork in us, we’re “done” And in those moments, all we truly want is for it to stop. We dream of leaving it all and moving to the beach, or worse, we dream of something “happening” to us that forces us off the treadmill. I had a client once tell me that she “dreamed of getting hit by a bus” so her stress would all come to an end. What a horrible and depressing thought.

This month we’ll be tackling this all-too-common and painful dysfunction: “Burned Out.” Not only is it an important and timely topic for each of us today given how much is on each of our plates, but at its core, this topic is actually about realizing one’s potential. It comes down to learning how to develop a healthy relationship with stress and using stress to help us to stretch and grow rather than letting stress get the best of us.

To that end, we’ll be tackling the following questions throughout the month:

  • What are the signs that I am burned out?
  • How can I manage burn out at work?
  • What are ways I can manage burn out away from work (at home, etc…)?
  • If you are the boss, how do you help your employees from getting burned out?
  • What are ways to “fire proof” your life going forward so burn out doesn’t strike again?

Joining us on this journey this month will be a guest expert / columnist, Travis Dommert. Travis is the President of IRUNURUN a performance and accountability system designed to help individuals and organizations achieve their potential and in his words, he’s an “expert in quitting”, or more accurately, understanding why people quit and helping them avoid it. Travis, welcome!

Every week, we’ll kick off the conversation by taking on one of these big questions. By the end of the month, if we haven’t cured this dysfunction, we’ll do a darn good job treating it!

At its core, avoiding and managing burnout is all about developing a healthy relationship with stress. When stress gets the best of us, it is not a pretty picture. If you’ve ever seen the movie “Real Genius” starring Val Kilmer, it has one of the best “burnout” scenes I’ve ever seen. I won’t spoil the surprise, but notice everyone else’s reaction when the “break” happens and watch what happens to the empty seat…