How Brilliance Creates Burnout

Happy New Year.

I hope you had a restful break. I spent much of my weeks off, horizontal and on the beach! Glorious. 

My intention for 2023 is To Dwell in Possibility. It feels rich and generative and gives me perspective, when I find myself getting lost in the woes of the world.  Do you have an intention, a word, goals?

A long time ago, as part of research for a new set of consulting services, colleagues and I attended a residential retreat in a beautiful old manor house in one of the Home Counties outside London, where we were based. I was feeling a bit anxious and somewhat skeptical, as I entered the room where my colleagues were gathered, wondering what box would be offered for people to be pigeonholed into, this time.

The session was facilitated by this wonderful American woman who was on the faculty of Cranfield’s MBA program. I remember, in silence as we waited, how she drew a diamond shape on the flip chart. She explained how we have  many different facets and the model (Bioenergetics) that she was about to describe offered a view into one of those facets. 

I absolutely loved that analogy. I found  it incredibly freeing. I was already growing weary of  models that attempted to categorise us, as if that was all of who we are. Seeing those categories as one possible  insight into a facet of us seemed like a much better framing. That’s one of the reasons why I love the coaching model that I use, as it offers and integrates many different lenses through which to view the human being, resulting in a much richer picture.

The diamond that represents each of us, is brilliant, beyond definition or categorisation. All too often our brilliance becomes dimmed by the negative messages we tell ourselves and in the way we allow others and our environment to effect us. Sure, we have imperfections that we need to be aware of and work with, and that is important and not to be overlooked. 

But it is all too easy, when we are on, what can sometimes seem like an endless treadmill of work and life, to forget about what lies beneath, what is shrouded from view. If we are constantly going against the grain, blocking our brilliance, burnout is much more likely. One client that I worked with, who was suffering from a severe case of burnout, needed to reconnect with her love of playing music, as well as set some strong boundaries around her workload, in order to come back to herself.

It turned out she was her own worst enemy - not setting boundaries was costing her, but she began to see that it was also effecting the quality of her work and her work relationships. She found out that no one one is indispensable. By overworking, getting too involved in trying to please everyone, playing politics, and hiding her true colours, not only was her own performance suffering, but she was also limiting performance all around her.

Keep coming back to your brilliance and what enables you to shine - it is one of a kind and needs to be revealed. We are blessed that we have lives and resources that mean this is possible for us, unlike so many others.  How can you create more opportunities to give yourself room to shine in 2023? The world needs your brilliance.

And if you want to know more about burnout check out the latest research from Nick Petrie.

https://www.nicholaspetrie.com/general-8

Sending love and courage

Áine