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Burnout
62 Plays2 months ago
Vernon takes us through an article on burnout from Reclaim.ai at https://reclaim.ai/blog/how-to-recover-from-burnout. Download the free app at https://LifeUntangled.com and support us at https://gmint.org.
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Transcript
Vernon's Journey to Faith
00:00:22
gmint
And this is Vernon. And today I wanted to talk about this idea of burnout. I remember ah when I was, I don't know, a teenager. And if you know my story at all, I came from an unsaved family and a good family. Don't want to throw shade on my family. Good mom and dad, good family, not believers.
00:00:51
gmint
And I accepted Christ at 15 when I went to a youth group. It's funny what will happen when a girl invites you somewhere, you just go, right? And I went and lo and behold, it was a youth group and it was fun. I had a great time. And I accepted Christ and I just, my eyes were opened. I really, it's like the Lord just,
00:01:19
gmint
really saved me, right? I mean, you're saved. You're either saved or not saved. You're not really more saved or any less saved. You're just saved or not saved. But I was really saved. I was like, I got it. I would cut grass with a new vigor, if you will, when I would go out and cut grass for extra money.
00:01:42
gmint
I would use that money to buy different Bible commentaries or my first strong exhaustive concordance and that thing was so big, you could work out with it. But the print was so small, I don't think I could even read that particular version right now. But I had a good work ethic.
The Burden of Overzealous Evangelism
00:02:03
gmint
And I remember saying, and I heard a message back then, some preacher said, you need to burn out for Jesus.
00:02:11
gmint
And wow, that just sounded so like incredible. like that is what you That's what a good Christian does. You burn out for Jesus. And I realized, I don't think that's the way to go. And I did that. I literally burned out for Jesus. I went out and I talked to anybody who would listen about Jesus, and I would go and witness and and do all those things you do, and those are good that's a good thing to do, not knocking it.
00:02:45
gmint
but I was trying so hard and just trying to get God to like me a little bit more and to love me a little bit more and to really make him just pleased with me and to be on the top of the list. I mean, like he's Santa Claus or something and I want to make sure I'm on that list and I'm doing it and going and going and I'm learning to preach and I'm preaching at 16 and 17 and just going at it.
00:03:15
gmint
and still struggling, having my own personal failures, but still going at it hard, right? I don't know if you can relate. But I get married and um um you know I go to college and then I get married and I'm thinking, yes, i'm gonna I've just got a burnout for Jesus. And I'm invited back to be the youth pastor of this little church and and to run the youth group and I'm going hard and you know, doing everything. I was preaching on on some Wednesdays and Sunday nights and on Thursday nights, and then I was a janitor at the church, if you will, and sweeping up and cleaning up and painting and doing all kind of stuff, just doing everything I could.
00:04:02
gmint
And I was feeling that pressure.
A Hospital Revelation on God's Unconditional Love
00:04:08
gmint
and it landed me in the hospital. But that's right where God wanted me because I couldn't do any more preaching. I didn't feel like talking. And as I opened my Bible, it was like the Lord just said, Vernon, if you never lead anybody else to Christ, if you never teach another lesson, you never preach another sermon, you never serve me in any way, you are loved. You're mine.
00:04:37
gmint
There's nothing more you can do to get any more love. And that's what it took for me. And I started to walk toward and understand more about God's grace.
Linking Personal Burnout to Workplace Insights
00:04:55
gmint
Well, fast forward.
00:04:58
gmint
to today, I'm reading an article and this just hit my inbox. And I said, this is a good topic, it's an important topic. And the actual title, it is from a blog.
00:05:10
gmint
on from a company called Reclaim.ai. And I use Reclaim, it's a calendaring service. ah This isn't a commercial form, but you know I like them. I don't use it till it's full to its full potential, but um I'll put a link so you can see this and read more detail. I'm gonna go through some of it, because if you're like me, you'll see a link, look at it, and you're not gonna read the whole article.
00:05:37
gmint
But those that want to, I will put the link in. It's really good, it's secular, but I found it fascinating. And they they started ah with this question. If you had to guess how burned out do you think the average employee or team is, and the reality as they explain, is that employees average a 60.2%, 60.2% burnout rate. And that means well over half of all employees are experiencing some level of burnout. And they go through the stages of burnout ah from this just initial stress all the way to a chronic burnout.
00:06:33
gmint
and And what they've seen in this survey was that about 2.7% of employees reported no burnout at all. And just a little over 5% are completely burned out and on the verge of quitting their jobs. And the rest of that 60% is somewhere you know in between. And they're most likely on the road to this complete burnout. I don't know where you land, but just wanted to hit a couple of highlights and see you know how that relates also, not just to the workplace, but to our own
00:07:26
gmint
um relationship with God.
WHO's Recognition of Burnout as a Syndrome
00:07:30
gmint
In the workplace, according to the World Health Organization, they actually consider burnout as a diagnosable syndrome. And they say it is caused by chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.
00:07:52
gmint
Have you ever felt that in the workplace? Have you felt that in the home place where there's a whole lot of work going on?
00:08:02
gmint
Some folks think of burnout as this fleeting feeling of exhaustion. um You know, maybe you get a little extra rest, you have a good weekend and you're done. But if you have ever experienced this true burnout as the article continues,
00:08:23
gmint
um you know that it is this pervasive state of chronic stress that really will wreak havoc on your physical and mental health, relationships, and just everything.
00:08:37
gmint
um
00:08:39
gmint
The article continues and does talk about this rise of remote work. And as you know, Grace Ministries, we are a remote environment. And And we're in we're not immune to this in any fashion, this concept of burnout. There's this constant barrage of digital notifications. You have that on your phone, whether you're iOS or Android, you're getting all kinds of notifications. You can turn them off and on, right? But we we see the email pops up in the bing and the ding and the alarm and all of this stuff.
00:09:21
gmint
ah demanding our attention.
00:09:25
gmint
And we juggle that with multiple roles and all kinds of to-do lists. It's very challenging, wouldn't you say? One thing that ah We should note that you know if you're on this burnout, on this burnout path, it's not permanent.
Symptoms and Impact of Burnout
00:09:50
gmint
um When you're feeling burnout, and I'll go through what they describe as some of the symptoms of burnout, but it's more of ah of a like a light on your dashboard saying, hey, check oil, check burnout,
00:10:07
gmint
ah Something's happening. And I would say, listen to your body. God designed this body in an incredible way to give you messages that it's good to listen to. Here's a couple of um symptoms that are associated with a job burnout. And I would say also ah with a um burnout at home,
00:10:38
gmint
And also think of it in the context of burnout in your Christian life. And there's three, if you wanted to put three big categories here, or components, there's a chronic exhaustion. It's that feeling of being completely drained, both physically and emotionally.
00:11:03
gmint
You know, your mood and energy levels are just low, maybe even non-existent, even after a good night's sleep. That's one component. The second component is this perceived or actual poor performance.
00:11:20
gmint
um burnout can result in this decrease in productivity and efficiency. You feel like you're just not performing as well as you used to. Maybe you're making more mistakes than you remember making before.
00:11:38
gmint
The last big category is this depersonalization. It's a feeling of detachment or cynicism even towards your work. You may start to feel negative or resentful toward your job, your colleagues, or even your clients. So the summary there is that burnout is this state of chronic stress that leads to exhaustion, a sense of ineffectiveness and a loss of motivation. It's a warning sign that something needs to change before it's too late.
00:12:18
gmint
So there's a couple of physical symptoms and then some emotional and behavioral symptoms you might wanna just look out for.
00:12:32
gmint
On the physical side, this persistent exhaustion or sleep disruptions, ah that restless sleep leaves you groggy in the morning or the appetite changes or aches and pains or headaches, muscle tension, stomach aches, a weakened immune system, frequent colds or other infections. That's the physical side. There's this emotional burnout.
00:13:01
gmint
that um might you might experience a cynicism or a detachment ah from life or work or personal life and irritability and mood swings, a loss of motivation, anxiety and self-doubt, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness,
00:13:26
gmint
That's more on that emotional burnout symptoms and then this behavioral. You may see a decrease in productivity or struggle to focus and to complete task or meet deadlines, a procrastination and avoidance, putting off the important things, a withdrawal and isolation from other areas of life or relationships and increase absenteeism ah for work, maybe unhealthy coping mechanism, whether it's alcohol or drugs or other numbing, escaping behaviors.
00:14:10
gmint
And some of this may sound like, man, you seem like you're describing depression. And they are similar. And i and the article did a great job of just parsing those out that Burnout is more of a work-related syndrome that is characterized by that exhaustion cynicism and a sense of inefficacy.
00:14:38
gmint
And depression is more of that mood disorder that affects your overall well-being, not just work. And it has this idea of persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness and worthlessness. And that can stem from from a number of factors. And you know I think that ah those can definitely come together.
Understanding Burnout Progression
00:15:06
gmint
Now, when you look at these the stages of burnout,
00:15:13
gmint
There's, you know, when you get your job or you're in a new assignment, maybe you're just a new project, there's that honeymoon period, this enthusiasm. And then comes stage two, this onset of stress, ah this sense of stagnation. Then that onset of stress becomes a more chronic stress that, and you're feeling that frustration.
00:15:40
gmint
And then you move to the stage of burnout where that's, ah, this is this apathetic. And then that burnout, if you don't take action on that, and you can take action at each point along this path, but it becomes, this burnout becomes the norm. It's now in a habitual burnout.
00:16:05
gmint
So ah that's just a couple of ideas on this burnout that, again, ah from this article, I'll put the link in the description. I think it's good if you're going through that. It might be helpful. I hope so.
00:16:22
gmint
the um
00:16:24
gmint
Article continued and said there is this sense of administrative overhead that is one piece of the puzzle um that kind of it chips away at this burnout. It's this could be an excessive workload.
00:16:42
gmint
um all kind of deadlines and and your to-do list is getting bigger and bigger and you've got multiple projects and like you're on that hamster wheel just going and going and going. There's a lack of control um that can really tend toward that resentment and frustration. You're not feeling like you're a contributor, you're just at someone else's bidding basically.
00:17:10
gmint
There's ambiguous expectations, unclear goals, ah shifting responsibilities, a poor work-life balance. You're neglecting your personal life and relationships and hobbies. ah You're sacrificing sleep. The workplace is toxic, it's unsupportive. All of these things can really just eat away and contribute to this sense of burnout and the sad thing is, and I've been on both sides of this, I've experienced burnout and I've been the cause of someone's burnout. it's when you're when you're When you yourself are experiencing so many things and and you're on this burnout path and maybe you just don't see it, you begin to respond shorter, not as empathetic.
00:18:09
gmint
um You're trying to juggle so many things and you're not giving clear goals and clear expectations and ah being having that again clarity of communication and unintentionally being the cause. I've been there. I've done it.
00:18:29
gmint
So it's good to get our own house in order, like they say, on and I use this all the time, probably overuse it, when you're on the on the flight on an airplane and they say, hey, um if there's an unexpected loss of cabin pressure, this mask is going to drop down. Make sure to put the mask on yourself first before you help someone else.
00:18:53
gmint
And so it's a good idea if you think you may be on this burnout path, let's put on the mask first and let's get our house in order and then um see if we can help those, we might've unintentionally ah impacted.
00:19:13
gmint
Now, if you look at, um
00:19:18
gmint
this idea of next steps. you know what What can I do? we we're We're talking about it. Well, how do I how do i get walking and walking into a new path?
Strategies for Managing Burnout
00:19:31
gmint
Well, again, practical things. And you're going to say, I know this. I know. And this is where I would say, well, then stop talking about it. Start walking.
00:19:41
gmint
if you It doesn't do you any good if you just know it and you don't do anything about it. So one, get better sleep. How are you sleeping? Going to bed early? Are you binging you know TV shows at night, late? Get better sleep, work on your sleep. And however that however that works best for you. Set better boundaries.
00:20:06
gmint
between your work and personal life especially. Learn to say no to other commitments. And you don't have to be mean about it. You say, you know, I don't have time, but thank you. I don't have time but at this, at this season or in this season right now. Take time off. And I'm not saying, hey, you know, take a day and, but, you know, you may need, you know, if you're in this burnout stage,
00:20:37
gmint
That means you haven't been taking regular timeouts. And now you need a big, big timeout. And then in the timeout, figure out ways to make more consistent timeouts. Because your body needs to recover. and that you know And Jesus told the disciples the same thing. Remember ah Mark, it was around Mark um six, I believe it was.
00:21:03
gmint
and um he said He said, look, Jesus said to his disciples, come away by yourselves to a secluded place and what, rest a while. And then he says, for there were many people coming and going and they didn't even have time to eat, Mark 631. Can you relate to that? It's like, I don't even have time. I'm eating while I'm working. They didn't have time. All right, time out.
00:21:34
gmint
Let's find this secluded place and it may be out of nature. It may be a a secluded place in your home or secluded quote, secluded coffee shop or some place where you can get away and maybe for a long weekend though, but maybe for a week, maybe a sabbatical if that's an option. Disconnect and just take a break.
00:22:01
gmint
Develop good ways to manage and, number one, acknowledge stress. um And how do you deal with stress?
00:22:12
gmint
And, you know, in scripture, we're always told in this anxiety, in this idea of anxiety, to cast our anxiety. And it's ah it's a literal, this idea of casting away our anxiety. We're to the Lord, to the one who loves us.
00:22:29
gmint
And if you have this, if this burnout is in your Christian life, it's understanding the truth that, you know what? God's not looking for anything. he He doesn't need you to do anything for him. He has made you righteous and holy and pure, and he wants to give you the experience of rest, because he earned it for you.
00:22:59
gmint
And it's casting off these lies that you believe that you have to please God and receiving his rest. But when it comes to work, you can't just cast off your boss. That's not gonna work. So you have to figure out how to deal. I'm gonna cast off these deadlines. That doesn't work well. So you do have to learn ways. Number one is set boundaries, learn ways to manage the stress. And they give all different secular things.
00:23:30
gmint
Some things I agree agree with, breathing, learn to breathe. We don't breathe enough. God, this oxygen, ah breathing in and oxygenating is so important. Stopping and meditating, clearing our mind, but with scripture and prayer, a prayerful mindset, not just some open mind to let everything come in. It's a prayerful meditation and even meditating back, praying back His word.
00:24:01
gmint
and His love toward us, toward you. I'm not gonna go through all of these, but do something fun. You might wanna journal and and practice the the the fine art of gratitude um where Paul tells us to ah have joy, to choose joy, and to be grateful in all things.
00:24:27
gmint
I don't know about you, my mind's not like it used to be and I and i need to write down things and just say thank you, Father. You might wanna just take a moment, even if you don't write it down, what can I be thankful for today? That's from my heavenly Father.
00:24:41
gmint
That is around me in relationships. What can I be thankful for and grateful for? And take that moment.
00:24:50
gmint
Diet is always important. Exercise, I try to exercise two or three times or more a week. Two at the gym, sometimes just out walking with my wife. um Doing yard work, trust me, I don't do that for fun. I actually do it for exercise. I don't even do it for the yard to look well. I literally do it. All right, this is my exercise. That's what I have to do to think about it. Some people love yard work. I mean, that's awesome. That's just not me.
00:25:19
gmint
So I do it more for exercise.
00:25:24
gmint
Oh, sometimes we need to reassess, you know, what ah what's my real goal here? What really matters here for me? What is the Lord really speaking to me about? What is that goal, that purpose?
00:25:45
gmint
Because again, I don't have to do anything um to make him happy. He's happy with me. He's happy in me and working through me. That's already done. You can relax.
Embracing Spiritual Practices Against Burnout
00:26:00
gmint
If you're in an office environment, I work remote. Get up, take breaks. I do it here too. Walk around, do something um different.
00:26:12
gmint
and then jump back into it. I'll tell you a couple more things on this burnout. Give yourself some grace. Give yourself some grace. The Lord gives you grace that is overflowing. Tap into that.
00:26:30
gmint
You know, Jesus said, come unto me all you who labor and are heavy burden, I will give you rest. One of my favorite verses, I overuse it maybe. He says, take my yoke upon you, learn from me. And he what am I learning? Well, he says this, I'm gentle and humble in heart. Learn from Jesus who is gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. Number one, he's given you rest to take it, enjoy it, and then learn from him. He's gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Let me encourage you today.
00:27:20
gmint
um Life comes at us in so many ways. it Life hit Paul, in while he was ministering to the Gentiles. And he said, I mean, he said clearly that he had all kind of things just coming at him. He said in 2 Corinthians 7.5, he goes, when we came into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest
00:27:51
gmint
We were afflicted on every side. And then he makes this statement, conflicts without fears within. This is the Apostle Paul.
00:28:02
gmint
Do you have conflicts without fears within? And you're just feeling no rest? That's when you come to the feet of Jesus.
00:28:15
gmint
And you just say, Father, I, Lord, I have conflicts without and fears within. And then the apostle John is gonna be listening in maybe, or the Lord will say, hey, John, I'm glad you wrote what you wrote in that first letter, that first sermon, first John, chapter four, that says, perfect love cast out all fear.
00:28:47
gmint
Take time to receive God's perfect love for you right now. Just bathe in his love for you. Receive his love. And I believe that to the extent that you can receive his love is the extent that you will experience his rest. So that's what I want you to do now. I want you, number one, to stop talking about burnout.
00:29:14
gmint
And I want you to start walking through some things that will work for you to make a difference in that burnout, to get out of the burnout cycle. Doesn't mean the stress and the deadlines and the projects are going away, but you can come and approach them from a position of rest and fullness in Him. And number two, receive His love. Receive the truth, the fact and the truth,
00:29:43
gmint
that He loves you no matter what, always for you, never against you. Receive that now. And when you do that, when you will actually stop and be still, acknowledging what's happening, and then by faith, just receiving the fact that He loves you, that He's for you, and that you are grateful for who He is in you.
00:30:13
gmint
Then my friend, I believe in this one area, he would have stopped talking and you have started walking.