Sustainable Ambition Forum - 07.27.21

 
 

Are you one of the many who is experiencing burnout at this stage in the pandemic? It’s easy to have gotten to this stage given how much was put on people’s professional and personal plates in the last year. Even I let myself get over-stretched this year.

Some are quitting jobs in response. That might be the right response for some. But don’t let the news give you resigning FOMO, as the Great Resignation may just be pent up quitters throwing the numbers.

Not to minimize it, but while all the focus on burnout makes it seem like this is a modern affliction, some suggest that it’s part of the human condition and has been documented throughout history.

That makes me think we have to get really good at paying attention to when we’re on the road to burnout and be armed to deal with it when it rears its ugly head.

  • To start, learn the signs. Listen in to The Sustainable Ambition Podcast Episode #17 with Talia Rosenblum featured below, in which we talk about burnout and what to look out for.

  • Next, get familiar with some tools to help you right yourself. We offer a few good reads below in the Round-Up.

  • Finally, there’s the perspective that part of what we need is to find space away from the constant demands, to do’s, and expectations. With that in mind, I offer three inquiries below that you can consider when you’re feeling stretched by demands.

Summer is a perfect time for us to pause and reflect on how we want our lives to function better, because burnout is no joke. During this natural time of slowing down, identify just a few micro-actions you can take to optimize your life for the better to go into the fall with a little more ease.

Wishing you well!

Kathy
Founder of Sustainable Ambition


The Round-Up

What should I do about burnout? What does burnout look like across the globe coming out of the pandemic? How have we all been impacted? And most importantly, what can we as leaders do to support employees? Or, if we are burnt out ourselves, what can we do to support ourselves or to guide what we ask for of our employers? Learn more here from Jennifer Moss who is an expert on the topic and coming out with a book in September.

What small steps can I take to avoid burnout? Hear why psychological safety in organizations and within teams is so important to help employees avoid burnout. And learn why small shifts can make a big difference to keep ourselves whole. A good podcast episode with Paula Davis, Founder and CEO of the Stress & Resilience Institute.

What if I just quit? One person’s story on how it feels to let a few things go, perhaps your job but other things, too.

Feeling overwhelmed? Great practical tips to gain back some control and free your mind and time.


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The Sustainable Ambition Podcast - Episode 17

Join me for conversations with experts, authors, and friends on
what it means to live with Sustainable Ambition.

In this episode of The Sustainable Ambition Podcast, we talk to Talia Rosenblum, a Health and Life Coach who works with high-performing professionals that have hit burnout. For those of us who are ambitious, it can be easy to get to a point of weariness. That’s why I was thrilled to speak with Talia about how to find better work-life integration.

In this conversation, you’ll hear what burnout is, signals that you’re on a slippery slope to burnout, how to start to get control of your time and life, and Talia’s rallying cry to put just as much attention on building success and happiness in your personal life as in your professional life, moving from “I should” to “this is what I want to do.”

Find it on Apple Podcast here
Or, listen on our website here

You can also find the podcast, subscribe, and listen on Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Overcast.


An Inquiry: More Sustainable + More Ease


Feeling stretched by demands? Consider these three inquiries that you can come back to time and again:

  1. What’s unsustainable in my life right now? Acknowledge and recognize what’s not working. What are micro-actions or a big action I need to take to shift what’s unsustainable to sustainable?

  2. What really demands my attention at the moment? Get clear on your priorities. What can I de-prioritize, shed, or delegate? Cull down your project and to do list to narrow your field of focus.

  3. For what remains, ask: what would it look like if projects or tasks were easy? Really sit with that a moment. What could make it less cumbersome to achieve? Or, what can you take down a notch?



“You know the antidote to stress is not necessarily rest.... The antidote to stress is wholehearted living.”

— Brother David Steindl-Rast

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SUSTAINABLE AMBITION™ IS ABOUT CRAFTING A FULFILLING CAREER TO SUPPORT YOUR LIFE FROM DECADE TO DECADE.

It is centered around articulating your personal definition of success and achieving that without burnout while honoring your personal aspirations and ambitions as they ebb and flow over time. The end game—more fulfillment and ease in your professional and personal life, while still being ambitious.

We offer 1:1 Executive Coaching, Leadership Coaching, or Career Strategy Coaching, as well as VIP Leadership Brand Sessions and Workshops on a range of Sustainable Ambition topics. We also provide tips and inspiration, advice on career management over the decades, guides on key Sustainable Ambition topics of interest, and coverage of tools and inspiration.