Exhausted & Burned Out? Here's How to Renew Your Energy.

Last week I delivered a keynote about the importance of purpose as well as the biology of burnout to the entire HR department of one of the largest grocery retailers in the south. They are a purpose-driven organization and pride themselves on putting their people first…which they’ve historically done a great job of.

But the past 3 years have been incredibly difficult – they’ve got really caring people battling a pandemic, supply chain issues, and tragedies in their communities. They are the people everyone comes to with their problems, they’re serving the community (not to mention having personal lives)…and they are so exhausted.

Afterward, a woman came over to me to tell me how much my message resonated, and then she started to cry. She said “There’s so much to do…racial justice, equal rights, addressing poverty, bettering our communities…and I just can’t do it all. But if I stop, who will do it?” I could feel her drive AND her exhaustion.

She’s clearly purpose driven. She’s clearly empathetic. And she’s clearly burned out.

There is a dark side of being purpose-driven: you will give until it hurts. You will exhaust yourself. You will put everyone’s needs before your own.

I asked her some questions and then said, “You are clearly drained. You’ve got to regroup and renew your energy, and then you can refocus on what matters most. You’re having a hard time focusing and doing things well because you’re so tired.”

And you should have seen the look in her eyes. Acknowledgement. Permission. Relief.

If you're feeling exhausted and need relief, ask yourself...

1. In what ways do you need to regroup?
2. Where do you need energy recovery?
3. How do you need to be renewed?
4. What are THE MOST important things you need to be focused on right now?
5. What might you need to hit the pause button on?
6. What do you need to say “no” to so that you can be focused on what really matters?

(Bonus points if you get out your journal to write your answers to these questions!)

Regroup, then refocus.