Ah, burnout. That magical state where your ambition and drive collide head-on with your mental and physical limits, leaving you as a frazzled husk of your former self. You may call it a breakdown, but now I’m out of it, I’d like to call it an enlightenment opportunity. After all, what’s the point of being alive if you can squeeze every last drop of energy out of yourself like a depleted raisin? Spoiler alert: I learned so much from burning out that I’m practically a sage now, and I’m here to pass on my hard-earned wisdom so you don’t have to destroy yourself (you’re welcome).
Lesson 1: Rest Is for the Weak
Pushing myself to the brink taught me a valuable truth: sleep, relaxation, and personal care are clearly overrated. Who needs eight hours of sleep when you can survive on three and a diet coke? Forget wellbeing and socialising—if you’re not working, renovating your house, volunteering or helping someone move house, are you even a person? (Hint: no). Of course, by the time I couldn’t remember my own name, I had to admit that rest might have some value. But hey, I’d already learned the hard way, so that’s progress, right?
Lesson 2: Boundaries Are a Myth
Burning out showed me that saying “no” is for amateurs. Real overachievers say “yes” to everything: extra projects, weekend work, last-minute requests, and even stuff you don’t really understand. Sure, it’ll leave you staring blankly at a wall at 3 a.m., wondering how you ended up Googling "how to do tile a wall" mid DIY project, but who cares? Unfortunately, this just led to a full body rebellion and 'computer said no'.
Lesson 3: Productivity above all else
Before burning out, I believed that my worth was directly tied to my output. Burnout helpfully pointed out that this mindset is both toxic and unsustainable. It felt like unless I was super-busy, juggling 101 things, people might think I was lazy or unmotivated! Unfortunately, I had to learn that this wasn't quite true while lying on my floor surrounded by unticked to-do lists. Turns out, sometimes being human and present in the lives of those you care about is morhelping someone movee important than being productive. Who knew?
Lesson 4: Burnout is pretty 'on trend'
Once I hit rock bottom, I realised that burnout is basically a rite of passage in today’s culture. Everybody’s doing it! And if you haven’t experienced it yet, are you even trying hard enough? (Sarcasm alert: Please don’t take this seriously.) The real revelation here was that maybe, just maybe, this isn’t a club worth joining.
My gift to you: The wisdom of "Don’t do this"
So here I am, sharing my nuggets of sarcastic wisdom so you don’t have to push yourself to the brink like I did. Here’s the bottom line: don’t ignore your limits, don’t equate your value with your work, and for heaven’s sake, take a nap once in a while. Learn from my mistakes so you can skip the existential dread and head straight to being a functional, happy human being. Or don’t. Who am I to stop you? I’m just the burnout guru over here, eating Nutella pancakes and marveling at my new goal… trying to say “no.”
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