From Burnout to Transformation – S02 E01

S2 E01: How I Overcame Burnout_ My Journey from Rock Bottom to Success Transcript

Outline

Burnout and its impact on mental and physical health, with strategies for overcoming it.

• Burnout affects all industries and professions, per the World Health Organization definition
• Sharing my personal experience with burnout, leading to transformational change
• Burnout can serve as a catalyst for growth, innovation, and positive change
• I felt lonely at the top of my career despite being a visible leader and having a large impact on the organization
• I struggled with burnout and exhaustion, unable to sleep due to racing thoughts about my to-do list for the next day
• There was constant exhaustion from chasing fulfillment and opportunities, realizing they may never be enough without a mindset shift

Transcript

We can regain our control by transforming burnout into a new beginning. 

This is the first episode of a series that will help us unravel the complexities of burnout and offer ways to not just cope but flourish. So whether you're feeling overwhelmed by the demands of work where you've hit a wall in your personal life, you'll want to tune into today's episode as well as the series. 

Welcome to Rat Race Reboot. I'm your host, Laura Noel, and as a certified coach and former 27-year military leader. Each week, I provide bite-sized mindset pivots that will help you reset your mind, reawaken your spirit, and regain your control. There is so much information on the topic of burnout in the world. Businesses and coaching practices today are devoting themselves to helping leaders overcome burnout both personally and professionally, both as individuals and at the team and organizational level. And there's a good reason why so much attention has been devoted to the topic of burnout. Burnout has made its way into every corner of our professional lives. And if you haven't experienced it for yourself, it's likely you know someone who has. Burnout is no longer exclusive to a select industry. We might be aware of it in industries such as healthcare or education. Those industries, in particular, are really known to experience burnout at high levels. Today, burnout is a common characteristic of practically every occupation, and every single type of business there is out there. So, what is burnout? 

Well the World Health Organization defines burnout as a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been so successfully managed. Now, it's worth underscoring the significance of this definition. And acknowledgment by the World Health Organization, burnout is real, it exists. And it expresses itself in so many different ways. On an individual level, it most commonly manifests through feelings of exhaustion, overwhelm, and resentment, and if left unchecked, it can lead to numerous physical and mental health impacts. It also impacts organizations at the organizational level and can lead to significant losses, losses of people staying on the team productivity, and business effectiveness are impacted. 

So it's no wonder that individuals and companies invest so much energy trying to overcome and prevent burnout because it can be so destructive. So this is why I'm talking about it here in this podcast, Rat Race Reboot. As many of you know, if you've been listening to this podcast for a while or if you've read my book, Rat Race Reboot, you know that I believe in everyone's individual ability to create and design the life of their dreams, dreams, the life that they truly want to live that they can imagine, I always say, if you see it. In contrast, Bob Proctor, my mentor always said if you can see it in your mind, you can hold it in your hand. And I always end my podcast with everything created twice, first in your mind and then in physical form. 

So, in these episodes where we're talking about burnout, I'm going to invite you to explore a different side of burnout or a different aspect of it. One where burnout can serve as a catalyst for growth and positive change. You know, despite its negative and devastating impacts, burnout can also help us create clarity about the things that matter most to us. It can also lead to innovation. And it can also inspire and help us pivot the course of our lives in unexpected ways. But let me be clear. I am not suggesting that burnout is something we want to embrace, hug, and celebrate. It can do so much damage and wreak so much havoc on people and companies, and that can't be understated. However, as people encounter burnout, it can lead to profound transformational change. and hopefully through these episodes, we might find ways that we can avoid burnout. But if we're already there, what can we do about it? These transformational changes that we can create for ourselves might not otherwise have been possible without that catalyst. I've experienced burnout firsthand. And that's what inspired me to change. I felt like I hit rock bottom. I've shared my story on different pieces of my story in various episodes, but I'll make the story short. That was the pinnacle of my career, I was progressing through my rank. I was in the military, and I was progressing through my career pretty quickly, I reached the rank of IE seven, and I was a First Sergeant in my organization. And that role was really the — the idea behind it is I'm taking care of people. That's I mean, as a noncommissioned officer, that's a role, but it's at another level, in the role of a First Sergeant in that position. 

As I was serving in that role, my husband and I were taking care of my father, who was terminally ill; we moved him from Pennsylvania to New Hampshire, where we live. I was going to grad school then, and I was also a very visible leader on the base. And so whenever there were events on the base, and people's promotions and different, uh, you know, a ton of events on the base, I was there; if I wasn't there, I probably had a hand and leading the event, as well, my footprint seemed like it was everywhere, in everything. And I was going through all of this personal turmoil, and nobody knew what it was like, I was wearing that as a badge of honor, just being super busy being everywhere, not asking for help, but helping others. And it was just I felt so lonely. Being at the top of my career, I progressed to another position where I got in that role. And the year later, I got promoted to the rank of E eight. And then, the next year, I got promoted to the rank of E nine. And all the while, I kept up this crazy pace. And I had this insatiable desire to be involved in everything, to do more, to have more, and to be more, but it was never enough. And I remember I didn't really have a lot of close relationships during that time because I was so busy. I was in burnout mode. 

But I was so deep in it that I couldn't see it. I was exhausted; I was tired, and I would come home from work late. And I couldn't sleep because my mind was still racing. And all the things that I had to do the next day, Sunday would come you think I would be resting? I would not; I would be just driven by anxiety, figuring out how I could plan my week ahead. It was horrible. And it was very lonely. And I remember going to a person who was a friend at the time, not even really a close friend, but that was at the time felt like a close friendship. We are close friends now. But I asked her what was going to be enough. I'm exhausted. When am I going to be enough? It was like I was chasing after things, chasing after joy, chasing after fulfillment, and chasing after opportunities. And I had this impostor syndrome to add the cherry on top. But I said What am I? When's it going to be enough? I'm exhausted. And when am I going to be enough? And it was at that moment when I asked her that question: When am I going to be enough? That had me sort of gasp and stop in my tracks. That was the AHA that I needed to hear myself say those words. When am I going to be enough? I will then realize that unless something changes in my mind, I will never be enough, and I will always be in this hamster wheel.

So I finally found my way out, working on my mindset, getting coaching, doing some personal development, setting some boundaries, getting mentorship, and through this journey. In this next series of episodes, we're going to be talking through a lot of these things we're going to be examining burnout and how we can use that for positive change. We'll meet inspiring people who've experienced burnout and not only overcame it but really transformed their lives. They created something entirely new from their experience. They will just as practical steps you can take today moving forward to turn burnout into something a work and work-life kind of balance or experience that's transformative and actually enjoyable. But this is an intro episode for today. 

As I wrap up this episode, I just want to say if you're experiencing burnout right now, I want you to know that you already possess the power in you to transform your journey because the truth is, everything is created twice, first in our mind, and then in physical form. You'll want to stick around for our next episodes because we're going to learn how to do that. Thank you for listening today.