When we hear of people who have or are (or have) experiencing BURNOUT and we often think of burnout as a moment in time when individuals are physically spent, not able to go forward, unable to function in their job or cope with life’s demands.
But the startling truth is that many have already entered into an early stages of BURNOUT… and not even know it.
No matter if you are a CEO, store manager, ministry leader, Starbucks worker, stay-at-home Mom, or you work on the assembly line…
If you have not paid attention to you, issues of self-care and matters of the soul, and if you do not give expression to whom God has created your to be, you are set-up for burnout.
Point: You can only live and minister our of duty and responsibility for so long.
There are things in life that you cannot shirk and must be addressed, but if we live day-in and day-out only to care for the many responsibilities, duties and demands of others (organizations, family or disciples) it is a recipe for trouble.
You have been “fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139).” You are a creative act of God, birthed to express life. We are his craftsmanship created to display his life (Eph. 2:10) very similar to art, designed and shaped to display God’s grace to others. Your greatest act of worship is more than just attending a service.
Real worship consists of lives lived to full expression. It is a man and woman who is fully alive (St. Irenaeus). You a trophy of grace sitting on the mantle of the universe. Having coached leaders and passionate Christ-followers over the last thirty years, and having personally experienced a BURNOUT period in my own life, becoming fully alive does not translate into doing more and more.
In his book, Adrelaine and Stress, Dr. Arichibald Hart goes after topics related to the impact of life today. This combined with my doctorate studies focused on issues of personal renewal, has yielded seeing Burnout as a series of “Four Stages of Burnout.” This continuum grid that reflects some of the best research and literature out there and shifts our often held paradigms about stress and burnout.
Here is a concise summary of The Four Stages of Burnout:
STAGE 1: EXHAUSTION… the physical demands of life, your job, the duties and responsibilities of every day begin to crowd out the things that bring you life. This inability to get to those things that give you life begin to take a toll on your energy and capacities. You begin to feel the effect of having very little space in your life. You feel spent. And you begin to recognize that your depletion has begun to play itself in your attitude toward life and others. You have begun to say things like, “why do I always feel tired?”
STAGE 2: FATIGUE... the prolonged state of exhaustion now moves into a state of fatigue and weariness. A good night sleep is hard to come by. In fact, it is often hard to sleep. You go to bed thinking about problems, you wake-up worrying about what’s ahead, and in the morning you feel tired before the day even begins. You have come to recognize that during most days that you are spent. When called upon, you often “hit the adrenaline” button to get that extra shot of needed energy, but even that begins to see its limits. You turn to various stimulants to “stay up’ and focused, while wondering how soon til quitting time.
STAGE 3: DEPRESSED… the emotional impact from prolonged exhaustion, and persistent sense of being fatigue has now produced a belief that there is little hope for things changing or getting better. Whether acknowledged or not, you are now is a “depressed state” and it begins to show itself physically. More prone to colds, unable to call forth any reserves in energy. Even the basic things like outside activity, and going out, becomes a chore. Your day consists of just trying to make it through. You fear that someone will ask you to take on “just one more thing.” After hours consists of just crashing, hoping that tomorrow does not come too quickly, yet it does.
STAGE 4: SHUT DOWN… the compounding of exhaustion, physical fatigue and the struggle to just make it through a day begins to lead to an actual physical shut down of physical function. You sleep in. You question of whether you can get up, make it through the day, or handle one more challenge. In fact, you begin to miss work, and/or become convinced that you cannot continue on. Appointments are missed. You are absent in meetings, though physically present. And then one morning comes, and you don’t get up.
Many are surprised to find themselves already at Stage 2 and often headed toward Stage 3 of BURNOUT. As a coach, I typically catch leaders who are heading into Stage 3.
Here are THREE suggestions if that is you:
For more discussion around the topic of Burnout, Checkout the Leader Breakthru PODCAST on Burnout:
© Terry Walling / 2020
