Since you are here to learn the 5 ways to avoid burnout this season and year, I will cut to the chase. Here are time tested and proven methods of keeping your personal batteries perpetually charged and robust.
1. Clear out the drudgery from your life: This may be boxes filled with painful memories, excess items (even e-mails), or your social masks – what you may be attaching yourself to that may also be draining you of your personal vitality. What will be the result? Your shining essence will emerge, and people (even business prospects) will become naturally attracted to you without you necessarily needing to take the initial step.
2. Be healthy: Ensure that you are on track in terms of visiting your traditional and alternative health care providers (i.e. family physician, dentist, massage therapist, chiropractor, dietitian, etc.). Ask yourself, “How well am I taking care of my physical health?” Can you see the correlation between your own personal health and the health of your business? It is an important question to consider. Plus, if you consistently choose to not engage in high-drama situations and conversations, you will save yourself many headaches down the road and prevent yourself from getting off course, which means you will realize your goals soon than later. Hooray!
3. Enjoy your transition time: Give yourself extra time to get to and from places, and focus on “letting go” when you hit a traffic jam or other line-up (i.e. when you no longer feel in control). Slow down and deepen your breathing, to dispel any accumulated emotions. If you are late for an appointment or meeting and you have a cell phone on you, wait until you feel calm and then call the individual(s) affected to notify them of this. Strike up an upbeat conversation with the person next to you, or the cashier.
4. Give and receive: Carry this out throughout the year. Be equally open to both giving and receiving, and every day, express your gratitude for your blessings. This will increase your personal energy and help you attract more material and spiritual riches into your life.
5. Are you having fun yet? This season, give yourself the gift of time and personal reflection, to gain clarity about when your intentions and beliefs do not align with your goals or desires. What do I mean by that? Here is a simple example: although a month filled with joy, laughter and lots of giving, December can be a particularly challenging in terms of balancing out your time, energy and expenses. So, if you are invited to several work parties and yet have some important deadlines to honor, how can you best prioritize? Depending on your main communication style (listed below), you can ask yourself, “Which invitations…?”
- Visual: ” like fun?”
- Auditory: “…sound like fun?”
- Kinesthetic: ” good to me?”
- Auditory digital: ” like fun?”
Feel free to replace “fun” with whatever value means the most to you in the context of work. Other examples include: purpose, connect, contribute, give, purpose and learn. Then weigh your response according to your business intentions for the short- and long-term. For example, maybe you are in the midst of growing your business and you want to meet new people and become more visible? What better way than in a relaxed context such as an office, pool, birthday, graduation, anniversary or Christmas party, BBQ social, Canada Day/Fourth of July event… you get the picture.
Imagine having more of these 5 F’s: focus, family-and-fun time, finances and fulfillment this year? Take the opportunity this season to celebrate being human, fully alive, and blessed with many inner riches.