Teri Karjala //August 16, 2013//
Dear Business,
I have neglected you. Though I am here 90-plus hours a week, my personal life is in shambles, my marriage is on the line, and I feel like I’m caught up in a rat race. I am overworked, utterly exhausted and my passion has dried up. Whatever happened to the energy that lived within me? The excitement as I worked into the night? The meetings that mattered to me? Or the recognition I used to receive for running such a successful business?
Where have I gone? I feel lost in a world that I used to know so well.
Now, I force myself to get ready for work. Once there, I allow things to slip through the cracks and let my heaping inbox take over my desk. My once charismatic personality has faded to cynicism and dissatisfaction. I’ve simply stopped caring. I find myself wallowing in negativity, and I’m at my wit’s end. More than anything, I feel that I have let down those around me. Our mission statement, once so focused on teamwork, has crumbled – and my self-motivation along with it.
Sincerely,
Business Owner
Could you have written this letter?
It’s a sign of work place burnout. And despite what you may think, people notice. Those around you see your sloppiness, hear the listlessness in your voice, feel your lack of motivation, and worse still, most likely judge you because they do not understand it.
As a business owner, I get it. For many of us, owning a business has been a dream come true; but for others it can seem like a nightmare. Dealing with burnout can feel like a daunting task. It’s your responsibility, however, to take charge and really examine what is happening in your life.
I’ve given talks to large and small corporations on this very subject and taught tools to help empower business owners to develop and maintain a sense of excitement and gratitude in their work life. I often get asked how to prevent or reverse the effects of workplace burnout. Here are some of my most effective tips and tricks for overcoming the drag.
Teri’s Top Tips:
Teri’s Tips for Prevention:
These are only the first steps on the road to finding yourself again. Don’t forget to surround yourself with supportive folks, and, above all else, seek out the positive in everything you do. Getting back your mojo requires that you go back to the original motivations for why you began your business in the first place.
Once you rediscover that initial spark of joy, your enthusiasm will return. Slowly but surely, you’ll find yourself sending mental letters of appreciation to your business and, sooner than you’ll realize, your toxic self-loathing will be a thing of the past.