Transforming Burnout Into Breakthrough

A New Reckoning with Our Own Sustainability in 2023

I spent a lot of time over the holiday thinking about burnout. I know, I know. We all heard a lot about burnout in 2022.

But it was only when I took some time off that I realized that I was feeling it, too. When even joyous, meaningful things feel like a chore, you know you’re off-balance.

I also dove into research on burnout, which is too often discussed in narrow terms — as a workplace phenomenon — when the exhaustion so many of us feel goes well beyond that.

Who, after all, isn’t exhausted by the relentless demands (emotional and otherwise) of life in these tumultuous times?

By the endless stream of information and impressions no human can keep up with?

By the spectacle of a world that seems increasingly unhinged?

I know I am. So, now what?

Admitting It’s Unsustainable

Just yesterday, The New York Times reported that the #1-rated restaurant in the world, Noma, will be shutting down. The owner, chef René Redzepi, said the demands are unsustainable. It’s time to rethink the industry.

Wouldn’t that be nice — if we could all just hit pause and rethink how we work, live, communicate, and consume?

But wait, I didn’t say that quite right.

The fact is that many of us are engaged in rethinking all of that. Of course, we may not have the luxury of stopping or radically altering our work lives as we do so.

But we are recognizing the need to admit the fundamental issue of unsustainability that has been chasing us for decades and is now demanding to be reckoned with.

Our economic system is unsustainable. A lack of work-life balance is unsustainable. An attention culture driven by social media is unsustainable. And what we are doing to the natural systems on which we depend is unsustainable.

So, how, then, do we get to the transformation bit?

Breakdown to Breakthrough

Admitting the truth, as any 12-step program would say, is an essential first step. So, hurray for that.

But then, we must explore what we need to do to get to a breakthrough.

And while there are no simple answers, there is, as Rilke taught us, a great value in asking the questions.

So, what would a genuinely sustainable, meaningful, joyous life look like?

I find it a good question to reflect on at any time of year, but especially at the start of this one.

I also think it’s particularly important for those of us engaged in environmental sustainability. After all, the importance of these issues makes many of us think we can never stop.

But it will do no good to deplete ourselves as we are depleting our natural resources. The better alternative is to keep looking for the answers to how we sustain both.

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

And thanks for being here,
Lisa

P.S. The photo above is of Lake Tahoe, where I still can’t believe I live.