Burnouts are some of nature’s best gifts to you. This may sound wrong, maybe strange to you. In all fairness, burnouts suck but most people who have left jobs they hate to create some of the biggest brands in the world have all felt the transformative power of burnouts. Burnouts are heaven’s way of forcing you out of your comfort zone. Since humans are animals of habit, we have that innate desire to want to stick to the same things we have grown to love doing. S

That is why most people can work in one form till they retire after a 30 years period. A large proportion of people who change jobs do so because they got sacked but most rational minds will not switch jobs if the work conditions were just right. That’s where burnouts come in.

What are burnouts?

Learn all about burnouts from this podcast episode with my friend Chiege Ugwuozor.

Do you wake up in the morning and the mere thought of going to work wears you out instantly? Burnouts are hard to ignore. They build up over time and spread to all aspects of your being including your health, productivity and life. It starts as that gnawing frustration that undermines your efforts to be happy and relaxed. Simple routines you can accomplish with your eyes closed suddenly seem burdensome. When all this happens, then your body might have a thing or two to say to you. You should listen. But why does it happen you might ask? Let’s explore some of the common reasons burnouts occur

Why do Burnouts happen?

In my opinion, burnouts result from a buildup of unresolved stress. Stress is a constant in life and everything no matter how pleasurable can exert some stress. For instance, lying down is the default position for getting rest. But over a prolonged period, lying down can cause problems of its own ranging from the loss of sensitivity, bed sores, pains, damage to the spine and other crazy stuff such as low blood pressure. So stress can arise from doing the simplest tasks. While we fail to recognise the need to resolve stress, it keeps growing. Realise this fact and know that if you don’t relax enough and consciously work towards improving your own efficiency at unwinding, you will hit rock bottom faster. There’s another interesting reason why you could burn out soon. As you grow your skills and capacity, you take on new learnings. That makes you aHeavy-weight. Bear in mind that heavyweights sink faster than lightweights. The more substance you are made of, the deeper your thought process and the stronger your interventions. Unfortunately, as we grow, most of us do not realise that they are growing and need to up their rest game. In time, the crash happens.

So now you know about burnout?

Well, I know that it is one thing to know a thing. It is an entirely different thing to act on it. I would imagine that you might want to make some lifestyle changes. But in my heart, I know that most people will do absolutely nothing until they crash. So which are you?