With burnout at an all time high we should all start using tools to help prevent it.
Mental health is slowly moving to the forefront of people’s concerns: an article (1) by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in January 2019 states that “preventing poor mental health should be as important as treating it” and the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos this January presented an ambitious mental health program aiming to shift how societies view and manage mental health.
With the world changing at an increasingly fast pace, the job landscape is predicted to change as well which will inevitably cause anxiety and stress. With the 4th industrial revolution, changing job roles, the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) unsurprisingly the WEF’s Future of Job Reports (2) suggests that an essential skill for remaining competitive in the job market is mastering emotional intelligence.
Using our emotional intelligence helps us step back and de-escalate anxiety; adopt measures to reduce stress and prevent burnout.
Here are 5 Simple ways to start preventing burnout and find more balance in your life:
Know your strategy to de-escalate stress
Feeling stressed is part of life. Knowing what you will do in a moment of stress is key to calming you down. Write down what you’ll do when stressed and keep it close to you so you remember.
It can be: take 10 deep breaths, call a friend or family member, close your eyes and look at the big picture, take a relaxing walk.
Learn to stand Still on the Hamster Wheel
Do you ever feel you’re on a Hamster Wheel and can’t stop running?
Often, we’re led to believe that success depends on our ability to accomplish more in less time and if we’re not ‘pushing’ ourselves then we’re not going to get where we want. No wonder so many people feel stressed when they can’t keep up or get ahead.
What if…you actually join the Hamster Wheel with the intention of simply ‘being’ and trust that wherever you are in its cycle is exactly where you need to be? You could slow down to a more natural rhythm, after all, nothing bad would really happen, right?
Meditate
Meditating daily can be your prevention medicine!
Meditation and breathing help reduce stress and uplift your mood. They increase lung capacity and bring the body more oxygen. Meditation can help to settle our mind and calm us so we can focus on what we’re doing. We gain awareness of what is in our minds and identify our negative thoughts. Realising our thoughts are not who we are helps us become less identified with our negative thoughts and they start to lose their power. There are many other benefits to meditation. Try it for yourself!
Have a brave conversation
Take one of the things that are stressing you and consider how to decrease the stress. Maybe talk to your boss to reduce workload or to a colleague to get them to help you out. Perhaps it’s time to set boundaries and say No.
Often stress is caused be conversations not yet had or our own notions as to how they will go. Think about the person you want to have the conversation with. Visualize it and see it going really well. You can do this!.
Live joyfully
I know – how do you find joy in life if everything is going wrong and we’re so busy and stressed. Trust me – you can! Just take time to be and slow down on that hamster wheel! Notice what’s going on around you. Do more of the things you love.
My book: ‘Softer Success – Prevent Burnout, Find Balance and Re-define Your Success’ gives you many more tips of how to prevent burnout and be more peaceful. You can buy it on Amazon here
- Why 2019 is the year we must take action on Mental Health, World Economic Forum , 2nd January 2019
- The future of Jobs , World Economic Forum, 18 January 2016