The Cure For Burnoutናሙና

Burnout has become an epidemic

We live in a culture that is continuously seeking for personal energy, and the reason is that we lack power. According to a recent article, 56% of people are exhausted, tired, worn out, and burnt out. That is an extremely high percentage. It seems like we will use almost anything to get a little lift—from supplements, energy drinks, double shot espressos, and more. 

Burnout, today in our culture, has become an epidemic, and it needs to be addressed from a biblical standpoint. We do not have to live that way. There is hope in God. The Apostle John states that health and prosperity, which always lead to energy, are linked to the wellbeing of a person's soul. 

The Bible is filled with thoughts of strength and energy. The antidote to burnout is the power of Christ— His strength, His energy—and it rests upon us. Isaiah says that those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. Wouldn't you like that? Would you like to wake up in the morning with energy back in you? With a sense of excitement to face a new day? Sensing that this day has never been lived before?

All creation is filled with renewable energy. Rivers are always producing energy. From the sun, we get solar energy. The earth is moving and rotating around the sun, creating the days, the seasons, and the years. So if all of creation is filled with renewable energy, why would God not place this inside of us? Well, He has. If only we would change certain things, we could connect with God's power source. 

One thing we have to do is to stop energy leaks. We need to get rid of energy-draining emotions, because of the effect that negative emotions produce. They literally will sap the life and the energy out of us. Worry is a good example. The word for worry is an old English word that means to choke slowly until we choke the life out of an individual. Worry runs in the background just like the applications on your cell phone, consuming the energy while we are unaware. 

Anger is another draining emotion that keeps you thinking wrong things about people or situations, dwelling on the worst instead of the best. Resentment makes you replay that hurt or that disappointment you have experienced, repeatedly in the back of your mind. Others like unforgiveness and bitterness will consume life and will always lead to burnout. 

Some of these energy leaks might be small, and that is why sometimes we do not recognize them. We realize the big stuff. Like having a tooth abscess—you know if you have one. You recognize it because it hurts. However, you can have a cavity for a long time and never recognize it until it gets bigger. That happens many times within our life. These things get bigger and bigger, and you have to do something about them. 

Something we need to do is daily remove these energy leaks, just as we bathe ourselves, wash our hair, brush our teeth, and take care of ourselves—because we know we pick up debris. Likewise, the soul, the mind, the emotional parts of us, pick up bad stuff. That is why we need to remove any mental, emotional toxins in our mind. I am not talking about taking a lot of time doing so. I am talking about a good five to ten minutes a day. If you do not do this, the toxins will build up for months and years and become acute and then is when we burn out.