We work to live life, not live our lives to work.
We were lucky to connect and engage with Melanie Ewan this week. She eloquently explained how she had to navigate her burnout throughout her professional career. This narrative is not Melanie’s alone. We can all agree we have been in the same boat at some point in time. “I woke up one day, and my entire body hurt; I couldn’t move at all. I had to get my husband to help me get out of bed.” Melanie explained that she was fully aware of her signs of burnout. Still, she kept pushing through. It wasn’t until her body gave in, which lead to her inevitable but much-needed journey into a healthier lifestyle.
A few days off, some vacation days are supposed to help, or for some, it means packing up their lives and moving to a completely different city or country. We begin to accept this constant sense of exhaustion and anxiety that seems to creep up on us if you want to be successful.
With the constant growth of tech and women joining the workforce, navigating boundaries has become incredibly difficult. Often, our ambitions in wanting to drive our careers mean our mental and physical health end up taking a hit. At Locelle, we focus on having hard conversations. We want to give you the tools to help you navigate the stigma around Burnout Culture.
Self-care has many forms. It can be a quiet night in, a bath bomb, a glass of wine, or you learn how to say no and to set strict boundaries, and lastly, a solid eight-hour sleep. Melanie focused on how one type of self-care will never remain the same. Your role, duties, ambitions, how you take care of yourself, how you listen to your body will also need to change.
How do you navigate through your burn out? Do you feel like you have the space to talk about it with your peers or even in your workplace?