The Hope QuotientSample

More than at any time in history, most of us are chronically rushed, habitually late, regularly exhausted, continually pressured, desperately overloaded, totally overwhelmed, and vastly overcommitted. Do you know even one overcommitted, frantic, rushed, hurried, stressed-out person who enjoys high levels of hope? I don’t either. We ought to have warning labels affixed to our foreheads: “Warning! Contents under pressure! Extreme danger of explosion!”

Most of us are loaded far beyond our limits. The challenge of balancing our lives is getting worse—for you—for me—for everybody.

Two years ago, a thought hit me that resonated not only with me but with a group of pastors who were complaining about burnout. I had one of the major aha! moments of my life with them. After listening to our conversation for a while, I said, “I think we’re all acting like we’re burned out, but we’re actually all discouraged.” They all agreed.

I’ve now come to believe that discouragement often masks itself as burnout. As pastors, although we all said we felt burned out, we were no busier than we had been two years earlier. 

I now recognize that when someone comes to me complaining, “I’m fried,” very often discouragement lies at the root of the problem.

Discouragement often masquerades as burnout, and unchecked discouragement will kill hope.

If I want peace of mind, if I want better health, if I want better relationships, if I want to be more productive, if I want less stress, if I want more joy, if I am sick and tired of being sick and tired, then I have to pace myself.

Think Up:

Are you burned out or are you discouraged?

How will you avoid getting out of control and into a wreck? (Read on).