PAUSE GEM #46 – Burnout And Meltdowns & Art 150.3
Editor’s Note: As they have for the last couple of years, your summer Pause messages will feature the ‘Best of Pause. These GEMS are readers’ favorite messages from earlier years. Whether you are a long time subscriber, or new to our list, I hope you enjoy them all. After Labor Day, your Pause messages will once again feature all new info and resources.
P.S. – Also, be sure to scan right to the end of this message. You’ll want to be sure to catch the details on my Canada 150 Summer Art Project and the unique Provinces of Canada paintings on offer each week. This week – Newfoundland Labrador.
REFLECTION & ACTION: I’ve been thinking a lot about burnout in recent days. Not because I’m feeling burned out myself, although I have been there more than once in the past. But rather because I’ve been digging back through results of the Overload and Overwhelm survey that I conducted a few years ago.
Over and over again, people mention the downward spiral triggered by too many expectations and too few resources. They describe the hopeless feelings associated with not being able to see a light at the end of the tunnel. And, to cap it off, much of what they are doing feels pointless.
Still I’m hopeful. While meltdowns may be common, they’re not necessarily inevitable.
One of the things I have noted over the years, is that burnout is not always related to the number of hours worked. Meltdowns and burnout are just as often connected to feelings of hopelessness and pointlessness. It’s like we’ve lost track of any meaning that might once have been associated with the activities that fill our days. And so while we invest more and more energy we experience fewer and fewer returns on that investment.
And therein lies one of the main challenges: staying connected to the reasons why we’re doing these things in the first place.
The next time you find yourself or someone else swirling towards burnout or meltdown, see if you can dig deep to reconnect with the meaning and point of the activities at the core of your days.
- Think back to earlier times in your career, and try to remember what you found so engaging about the work in the first place.
- Pinpoint why these day to day activities once mattered to you and to those you serve.
- Ask others who know you well what your everyday contributions mean to them.
- Pay attention to the things that clients, colleagues and family appreciate. Take note of how what you do contributes to their success or well-being.
In short, see if you can rediscover the meaning in the answers to these three basic questions: Why this? Why me? Why now?
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: It is not how busy you are, but why you are busy – the bee is praised, the mosquito is swatted. – Author Unknown
RESOURCE OF THE WEEK: Need some more inspiration about tapping into purpose? Check out Richard Leider’s website and his work on the power of purpose.
CANADA 150 SUMMER ART PROJECT: In honor of our country’s 2017 anniversary celebrations, I’m delighted to introduce my very own Canada 150 Art Project. I’ve created one painting to honor each province – all ten of which I’ve had the joy of visiting over the years.
One unique provincial landscape, seascape or streetscape will be featured here at the end of the each of the summer GEMS messages. Ten paintings are up for grabs – one for each province – and one each week.
This week’s offering features Newfoundland Labrador. Read on for what you need to know to make this painting yours.
Each painting is 8” x 10” in size and although it’s not shown here, each one will arrive mounted in a double white mat bringing the outer dimensions to 11” x 14” – ready to pop into a standard frame of your own choosing.
The price for each painting will be $150 (taxes included) plus $15 for shipping to anywhere in Canada.
Each painting will arrive with a written commentary on a few of my memories of that particular province.
If you are looking for a unique remembrance of Canada 150, and you’ve always wanted to buy an original watercolor from the Pauseworks Studio, here’s your chance.
Just send me an email message with the words ‘Canada 150 – I’ll Take It’ in the subject line. The first reader to call dibs on each week’s masterpiece takes it. Good luck and Happy Canada 150.
Tags: art, Canada 150, motivation, Newfoundland Labrador, overload, overwhelm, painting, Pat Katz, Patricia Katz, pause, Pauseworks Studio Gallery, perspective, productivity, Saskatoon, speaker, Travel, watercolor, wellness, workload