Have you ever wondered why celebrities seem to experience burnout so often? It’s hard to imagine a biopic that doesn’t have the obligatory collapse into drugs, booze, depression, and/or early demise.
There are always spiritual issues behind it, of course, but one of the most overlooked elements is this . . .
It’s easy to burn out when you’re doing what you love to do. Especially when you’re doing what you love to do.
This feels counterintuitive. How does stress happen when you get to do what you love to do? Shouldn’t burnout happen to people who don’t get to do what they love to do?
But that’s exactly where stress hides. In the corners of the work we love to do. The work we’re driven to do. The work we can’t stop doing, even for a short while.
Most folks may spend their day working at a job that they hate or (at best) tolerate. But the upside is that it’s easier for them to clock out, disconnect, and enjoy their days off. But not us.
When you love what you do — are called to do — it’s almost impossible to lay it down, take some time off, and truly unplug.
So, how can we avoid this pitfall? Here are a few ideas that have helped me:
1) Prioritize long-term viability over short-term success
When I was younger everything felt urgent and important. I fell into the trap that urgency was good because I thought it motivated me to stay creative. I was wrong.
Urgency is a killer. It might drive you to short-term success, but it will betray you in the long term.
2) Imitate Jesus’ schedule
The life and schedule of Jesus are the ultimate example of long-term viability.
While many around him were pushing for more and faster, Jesus was never concerned about short-term successes — and even less concerned about what others thought were short-term losses.
Be like Jesus. Slow down, but keep going.
3) See rest as an aid to productivity
Rest is far more than a key to productivity, but it’s not less than that.
Productive people have seasons of extremely high-energy output. These must be matched by seasons of equal input. Action followed by rest. Output by input. Creating, then reflecting. We need that rhythm.
Rest is not a break from productivity, it’s the essential fuel for it.
4) Be proactive about your schedule
This was another mistake from my early ministry years. Too often, I let others define my priorities and set my schedule. I asked “when would you like to meet?” instead of saying “here’s when I can meet.”
When you set your own schedule (with reasonable adaptations for the occasional emergency, of course) you can prioritize the important over the urgent.
5) Plan your down times before you feel the need for them
I’ve walked across Grand Canyon three times. One of the primary rules of such extreme physical feats is to eat before you feel hungry, drink before you feel thirsty, and rest before you feel tired. If you wait until you feel the need, it’s too late.
This is another reason why being proactive about your schedule is so important. Rest won’t happen when you find the time. It will happen when you make the time. And if you don’t make the time, it will unmake you.
6) Give your loved ones veto power
Too many pastors and other leaders have no one on their lives with the authority to correct them — including their spouse. This is dangerous.
No one is wise enough to know themselves completely. We all have blind spots that only others can see.
Give them permission to step in. Then listen and heed their advice. You’ll be glad you did.
(Photo by underclassrising.net | Flickr)
