Let’s talk about the classic mistake so many of us make when it comes to recovering from and avoiding burnout. We want it to be a QUICK FIX!
Understandable though isn’t it? Feeling burnt out – drowning in stress and overwhelm, wondering if we will ever feel good in ourselves again – sucks doesn’t it! And for many in the legal profession, it can seem like the only way to make burnout stop is to leave the legal profession.
One of the things my clients will hear me say more than once is this – ‘you did not burn out overnight and so you will not BURN BRIGHT overnight either.’ This is a journey, a forever journey in fact. Burnout is not like chicken pox where you get it once and then you are done. It can come back time and time again. Now, I am not telling you this to make you feel even worse about your battle with burnout. I am telling you this so:
1 – you start to take burnout more seriously; and
2 – you learn about the magic of the Compound Effect.
The Compound Effect (or the Magic Penny approach as I call it in the Burn Bright Programme) is a concept by Darren Hardy (check out his book resources here) and, in my opinion, is absolutely mind blowing. You may already be familiar with it as it is occurring in your world every day. In a nutshell, the Compound Effect is – small decisions taken consistently every day lead to massive results. That’s it. Cool right?
What does this have to do with the common mistake we make when it comes to dealing with burnout? Well, let’s use going to the gym as an analogy. You want to get fit and in better shape so you join a gym. You go 2 to 3 times a week for say, 3 weeks and you are not seeing any real changes. Your weight hasn’t gone down as much as you want it to and your clothes still feel that little bit too snug. So you stop going because it’s not working quick enough.
Same thing with your BURN BRIGHT practices. You meditate a couple of times, maybe you try a lunchtime walk a few times. But honestly, the pile of work is just getting higher and the overwhelm is increasing so, in fact, you feel even worse because instead of taking time out to meditate or go for a walk, you could have been fighting those fires on your desk or sitting in your inbox and so you stop your BURN BRIGHT practices.
The Compound Effects says if you keep making those decisions to go to the gym, to do your BURN BRIGHT practices, consistently, no matter what, then over time you are going to notice some BIG results (which incidentally, also creates some awesome deposits in your Burn Bright Bank Account which I talked about in an earlier post).
Imagine lifting that relentless feeling of overwhelm and becoming more confident and happy in all areas of your life, not just your career. Picture yourself having that work/life balance you have always dreamed of because you now manage your priorities in such a way that you can consistently enjoy more time for yourself and your wellbeing and development.
You can do it!
Remember… it is time to Burn Bright (not out!)
Burn Bright Wishes!
Donna x