Developing a Gratitude Practice to Manage Burnout Symptoms
“We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt
Burnout can have a pretty negative impact on your emotional, mental and physical health such as: loss of motivation, self doubt, negative thought patterns and outlook, feeling unhappy or unsatisfied with life, feeling stuck, feeling uncertain about how to move forward, and exhaustion. This topic comes up often in coaching, and I’ve helped my clients explore how burnout is showing up in their lives and how they want to work through these challenges. Some of my clients also worked with a therapist on their mental health challenges, as coaching isn’t a replacement for therapy.
One thing I’ve found to be very impactful for managing burnout is developing a gratitude practice. This won’t alleviate the root cause of burnout, but it can help give you some breathing room and clarity to help navigate the situation and make changes to address your burnout. The gratitude practice I developed in my own period of deep burnout and exhaustion really helped to give me a more balanced and empowered perspective over my work and time. Back in early 2019 I found myself exhausted and burnt out from working on a long and grueling 4 year IT project while also trying to manage my rheumatoid arthritis, and I was not in a good headspace. At the end of the day, I found myself thinking about all of the work I didn’t get done, all of the things that had gone wrong, all the fun things I was missing out on in my personal life due to the long hours I was working and exhaustion I was experiencing, and I was struggling to see the good in my day. This isn’t typical for me, and when I noticed it I was motivated to act and change this situation.
Gratitude practice started with me, for me, and it focused on my well-being. Then I found as I kept this practice up that it grew and extended outwards to my loved ones, coworkers, and other areas of my life. Soon I saw it spread as others picked up the gratitude habit, and that was a joy to see.
I started my gratitude practice by keeping it simple - every night before bed I’d write down 3 things I was grateful for, and it could be anything. Oh boy did I have to dig for my gratitude sometimes! On those hard days when nothing went right and the exhaustion was piled on, it was hard to see anything that went well or to be grateful for. On those days my gratitudes were things like: I’m grateful for breathing, I’m grateful for snuggles with my dog, and I’m grateful I dressed comfortably for this crap day.
Here I am almost 5 years later, absolutely loving this nighttime routine. Throughout this practice, I’ve found small gratitudes, hard gratitudes buried in challenges, and deep gratitudes that absolutely floor me. This practice has helped me to be grateful for what I have and has helped me find a soft landing each night before bed, which is especially helpful after hard days. I’m so grateful to myself for giving this experiment my best shot and sticking with it. Gratitude is deep medicine.
What does it take to start a gratitude practice? Not much! Check out my blog post on Cultivating a Gratitude Practice.
Other tips to help manage burnout:
Say no more often and be selective with your Yeses
Make time for activities that rejuvenate you
Get professional support - this can be a coach, therapist, or other support network
Make time for mindfulness and reflection - Apps like Insight Timer and Calm are loaded with guided meditations, sound meditations, and mindfulness tools
Physical activity can help the body release stress and tension. This can be walking, running, yoga, pilates, biking, or whatever your preferred activity is.
Tips for being kinder to yourself at work:
If your calendar is always stacked with meetings, take a few minutes after each meeting to drink water, stand, breathe, stretch, or walk around
Block out lunch and break times on your calendar as often as you can
Consider implementing a “no meeting” day or half-day on your calendar and communicate this to your colleagues (you may even start a trend!)
Analyze your current workload and commitments to see if any can be delegated or if deadlines can be adjusted.
If you found this post helpful and would like to dive deeper into developing a gratitude practice, check out my upcoming Invite Gratitude Into Your Life coaching program that begins in February 2024. Space is limited, and early-bird pricing is available through 12/21. Give yourself the gift of gratitude this holiday season.