Have you reached your limit and feel burned out? This is your sign to address your own wellbeing so that you can continue in your well-doing.
In 2022, we see a trend among healthcare professionals across the country who have been battling the pandemic for two years now. Burnout in our healthcare sector from an overloaded system puts pressure on health care providers to continue to perform without relief. We are seeing the effects among healthcare providers who are leaving their jobs. Those who remain often have compassion fatigue, feel guilty and suffer from mental anguish.
This is not new or uncommon, especially among those serving areas of persistent poverty, warzones or disaster recovery.
However, it is a growing phenomenon being experienced worldwide and is rampant among those in caretaking vocations. These positions require internal resources such as compassion, empathy, and hopefulness towards a better future.
It seems that the scale of this world-wide pandemic has overwhelmed the very people that are trained and motivated to serve in times of crisis. It is vital that the caretakers and changemakers of the world do their best to take care of themselves.
It may seem selfish to take the “personal time” needed when there is so much suffering and work that needs to be done, but without the wellbeing of the caretakers and changemakers, we might not be able to continue the good fight. Expert advice and research backs this up:
The link between pressure, performance, and impact
This World Economic Forum graph shows the diminishing returns on performance when the level of pressure increases or is sustained over a long period of time. To me, this demonstrates that our passion and commitment may lead into a spiral of diminishing returns and personal burnout if I’m not careful.
Why is this the case? You can’t pour from an empty cup. When you’re burnt out, your cup is empty – you have nothing left to give, to yourself or to anyone else.
Unless you take the time to nurture your own wellbeing – filling your cup – your performance and ability to create change will be limited.
An initiative to link wellbeing with well-doing is being led by a new movement. Many changemaker support organizations including Skoll, India Development Review, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and the Schwab Foundation are promoting a global movement through its Wellbeing Project, supporting the human aspects of entrepreneurship to unleash the potential for social change.
The Project conducted interviews with 50 leading social change leaders and published its findings in this research report. The report found that prioritizing individual wellbeing has a positive ripple effect across organisations, improving innovation, collaboration and social impact capacity—that is, wellbeing inspires well-doing.
The data validated the Wellbeing Project’s initial hypothesis: that inner wellbeing translates to a better and healthier relationship with self, one’s social environment, and one’s work.
Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel. – Eleanor Brownn
If you are burnt out, seek out a professional to talk to and concentrate on wellbeing practices and intentional rest that can refill your cup.
Stay well,