The Burnout Fix summary

When we think of people who’ve achieved extraordinary things – people like J.K. Rowling, Beyoncé, or Walt Disney – we may assume that there’s something innately special about them. They must be born with the huge amounts of talent they possess. 

While these celebrities are extremely talented, that’s only one small piece of the picture. If we look more closely at their journeys to success, we’ll see that it took them many years to achieve the results they did. Rowling’s first Harry Potter book took seven years to write, and it was rejected by twelve publishers. Beyonce’s first girl group was a bust. And Disney’s first company failed too. Success, for all of them, was a hard slog that took years to achieve. What they all had in common was that they weren’t deterred by failure. They learned from their mistakes, pivoted in new directions, and persisted in the face of rejection.

Have you ever spent one of your cherished weekends worrying about something that’s going on at work? Or have you found that you couldn’t really be mentally present at a meeting because you were replaying something your boss had said? 

As a response to stress, our minds go into overdrive and often become filled with negative thoughts. These thoughts cause us to lose focus and enjoyment in our work. Even worse, they cloud our perceptions of reality. We lose our ability to see situations clearly or make good decisions. 

What do Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates have in common? Well, apart from being two of the most ambitious people on the planet, they also prioritize time for leisure. Oprah Winfrey speaks often about how important it is to spend time in her beautiful garden, harvesting her own crops and taking her dog for walks. Bill Gates goes on regular retreats, where he reads books, walks on the beach, and gathers his thoughts.

Studies have shown that working harder and longer doesn’t automatically equal better quality work. In fact, our productivity decreases with longer work hours. We’re humans, not machines. If we’re spending 70 hours a week working, we’ll wear ourselves out. We all need to take the time to pause and nurture ourselves.

Colin was the partner at the law firm who everyone depended on. But then his husband got cancer. Colin was responsible for the enormous task of caring for him along with his other responsibilities. He was exhausted and stressed, but he had no idea how to reach out for support. 

Like so many business leaders, Colin had internalized the idea that showing vulnerability and reaching out was a sign of weakness. But, actually, it takes great courage to ask for help. When Colin finally did reach out to his team, they responded with compassion and brought home-cooked food for his family every day. Employee morale soared, and the team got closer because everyone felt invested in helping.

Imagine you’re swimming in a fast-flowing river, paddling desperately against currents that are carrying you in multiple directions. That’s what life feels like for many of us these days. 

Modern life is so busy and demanding that we will all get swept up in a tide of conflicting demands unless we prioritize what matters most to us. Identifying your core mission is like chartering your own boat. Instead of being pushed around, you’ll be able to plot your own course – and stick to it. 

Do you come home exhausted even though you’re not working long hours? Then it’s possible that some of your activities are draining your energy. 

We’re used to keeping track of how much time we spend on certain activities. But we’re less used to tracking how much energy they cost. Energy is our most precious resource – the thing that fuels our days and gives us vitality. If parts of our lives are sapping our energy, then we need to know about it. 

Imagine you’re an overworked employee who’s routinely forced to slog through the weekends and deal with constant stress. When you start feeling burned out and approach your boss, she refuses to adjust your workload – and instead blames you for not being resilient enough. She then sends you to a mindfulness seminar.

But all the mindfulness seminars in the world won’t help you avoid burnout if the structural conditions of your job are unbearable. It’s not enough to put a self-care Band-Aid on a toxic work environment. Leaders also need to step up to create systemic change.