 In a few days, I'll post the 4th blog in the BURNOUT series I've been sharing: Number Four will be "Life Beyond Burnout." #1 - Are You Burning Out? (Maybe It's Compassion Fatigue?) #2 - When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Burned Out (What IS Burnout?) #3 - Stop Living Like You're on Fire #4 - Life Beyond Burnout (It's Coming!) The reason I'm posting right now is because I promised the women at the LIFT Summer Refresher JUST PRESS PAUSE where I spoke on Friday that I would post the poem I wrote and read to them. So, here it is. :-) WHAT DO YOU NEED? (It may be different than what your friend needs!) Some of us need to stop thinking and do, while others need to stop doing and think. Some need to stop asking and give, though others need to cease giving and ask. Some of us need to stop crying and smile, yet others need to stop smiling and cry. Some need to stop confronting and give in, while others need to quit compromising and confront. Some of us need to stop waiting and run, Though others need to stop running and wait. Some need to practice discipline and organize, yet others need to cease structuring themselves into a box and relax. God is big enough to help us all. What do you need? So "relax" because there IS life beyond burnout and because being spiritual and loving God doesn't mean you have to respond to life's surprises exactly like your Bible teacher, pastor, mother, sister, brother, best friend or spouse! :-)
By the way, I also posted the poem on The Intentional Woman Facebook Group page. I'd love to have you join us there.
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 Maybe you’re just tapping your toe in the burnout cauldron. Perhaps you’re going down for the third count. Identifying your symptoms and the degree of your burnout will help you make intentional decisions to regain healthy balance. Here’s a shortened list of symptoms ranging from the occasionally bothersome to the more severe.
1. Decreased energy/unfocused/confused/disappointed 2. Increased fatigue/stress/sometimes use caffeine/sweets to lift mood 3. Change in weight/occasions of insomnia 4. Less creativity/vanishing sense of purpose 5. Headaches/decreased libido/muscle aches/dizziness 6. Feelings of depression/resentment/rigidity 7. Decreased social activity/nagging anxiety/emotional numbing 8. Exhaustion 24/7 with inability to sleep 9. Chest pains/shortness of breath/stomach problems/dizziness/disorientation 10. Inappropriate outbursts/periods of risky behavior/unhealthy blood pressure/diagnosis of illness “If you don’t want to burnout, stop living like you’re on fire,” writes Brene Brown, a vulnerability researcher at the University of Houston. Adopting reusable freedom-producing strategies can help you avoid additional symptoms or escape an established burnout system.
What has helped you avoid or recover from burnout? What IS Burnout or Compassion Fatigue?
Maybe It's Compassion Fatigue
 “I feel so unfocused and disorganized!” said my friend Laura. She had been downsized from her job, moved, and was trying to decide whether to get married again. “How can I manage all this change?" she asked. “It’s hard for me to be intentional. What in the world that is, anyway?” Perhaps like Laura, you wonder what I mean when I write about “becoming an intentional woman.” Although it's a process and not always easy, it is possible. I can't change anyone else, but I can make positive changes in my own attitudes and behavior. An intentional woman with a heart for God:
 Yet I believe that the key reason for living intentionally is to glorify God as the person He created you to be. In honoring our uniqueness, you and I come before our Creator and Savior with freedom and integrity. Just writing that down makes my shoulders relax and my breath to flow easier. How about you?
What's one word that reminds you of an "becoming an intentional woman"? *Preparing to facilitate/teach an Intentional Woman Seminar this weekend led me to share this tonight.
Well, I’ll tell you. In January when I returned rested and replenished, I had new energy to work on the website I’ve been dragging my feet about for the last six months. It’s not quite done. I still have some content to write and edit and photos to add. But the “Books” drop down is complete and so is the new bookstore. Try it out!
I have an entirely new “BRAND”, as my son would say. He’s the one who has been helping me create this new look. New business cards. New colors. New coaching and lifeplan brochures which are now “one-pagers.”(They’ll be on my site later.) So click on over to take a quick SNEAK PEEK at my new site. (It’s not even launched yet, so you really are peeking. Enjoy!) Then tell me what you think. I’d love to hear from you.  “What about spending time producing nothing but adrenaline, laughter, memories? What about spending some of the day in sheer, unapologetic uselessness–not just ceasing from our utilitarian existence, but turning it right on its head?” writes Mark Buchanan in his relief-packed book, The Rest of God.
That’s what I plan to do! On my vacation. I leave in the morning and I’m not working in the office again until Dec. 10! I’m going to play, lollygag, laugh, and make memories with my husband Richard. Ahhh! This I know tonight: God loves me when I work. God loves me when I play. God loves me when I lollygag. And He gives me all these renewal-producing gifts to enjoy. You, too! When will you take some time to play and lollygag? Perhaps you did so recently. How was it? |
Joan C. WebbWriting, teaching, coaching to empower and set free. |
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