Reflecting on life in our modern world was triggered by a “gratitude jar” introduced to me by my dearest sister.
Gratitude can be defined as taking time out to think about many positive emotions. It’s about “focusing on what’s good in our lives and being thankful for the things we have”. It’s time to pause, notice, and appreciate the things we often take for granted.
This in turn got me thinking about my “well-being”. The Oxford English Dictionary defines well-being as “the state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy.”
Well-being is commonly viewed as having seven dimensions:- mental, physical, social, financial, spiritual, environmental, and vocational. These dimensions are interdependent and influence each other. When one dimension of our well-being is out of balance, the other dimensions are affected.
Living in the 21st century we immediately notice how technology has revolutionized, how we live and connect, and how it has significantly impacted mankind. It is not surprising that adults and children alike are feeling overwhelmed by the amount of information they receive daily through social media.
While technology may have many advantages and be the catalyst to your business’ success, it’s also worth managing your relationships with family and friends to achieve a healthy balance or find yourself in the burnout phase.
First stage burnout
The first stage of burnout is especially true of a new job role, or the beginnings of a business venture. It begins with experiencing high job satisfaction, being readily available to accept more responsibility, trying to sustain energy levels, and the compulsion to prove oneself.
Second stage burnout
The second stage of burnout begins with an awareness that some days are more difficult than others. You may find common stress symptoms affecting you physically, mentally, or emotionally and soon anxiety, fatigue, forgetfulness, headaches, irritability, high blood pressure, inability to focus, reduced sleep quality, and lack of social interaction begins to creep in.
Third stage burnout
The third stage of burnout is chronic stress. This is a marked change in your stress levels, going from motivation to experiencing stress incredibly frequently. This can include, anger or aggressive behaviour, social withdrawal from friends and family, chronic exhaustion, feeling out of control, developing a cynical attitude, resentfulness, persistent tiredness, physical illness, increased caffeine consumption, and a lack of hobbies.
Fourth stage burnout
The fourth stage is burnout itself, where symptoms become critical. Continuing as normal is often not possible in this state as it becomes increasingly difficult to cope. Soon others start recognizing behavioural change, complete neglect of personal needs, and a desire to move away from work, and the neighbourhood. You soon begin to feel empty inside and you adopt a pessimistic outlook on work and life and self-doubt creeps in.
The final stage of burnout
The final stage of burnout is habitual burnout. This means that the symptoms of burnout are so embedded in your life that you are likely to experience significant ongoing mental, physical, or emotional problems like chronic mental fatigue, chronic physical fatigue, chronic sadness, and depression.
Recognize these stages all too well?
It’s time to stop the cycle and put all your efforts into building new well-being skills. Be realistic about what you can reasonably accomplish and give it time. Slow and steady actions every day will result in big improvements over time.
Step out there in FAITH, HOPE, PEACE, PATIENCE, AND SELF CONTROL you can do it!