4 ways to prevent burnouts in your 20's
Let’s admit it- living through 2020 in your 20’s seems like a harsh joke. Your career seems directionless at a point where experimentation is key, your inner wanderlust is absolutely annihilated at a phase where enlightenment is necessary for your inner soul and your dating life is a dud at a time when exploration of your options is essential.
While this generation has been empowered with more choices than the past generations, it can at times be very paralyzing. Especially when our modus operandi is “ Work hard, play hard”. So when this periodically draining attitude is embedded into our brains from the get go, what happens when a global pandemic hits and all your personal and professional goals take a backseat?
ONE WORD- NIGHTMARE! According to a Gallup study:
An additional 45% of millennial workers say they sometimes feel burned out at work, suggesting that about seven in 10 millennials are experiencing some level of burnout on the job.
It is becoming very clear that most of us have not too much gas left in our tanks. All that’s left is a slew of thoughts dealing with uncertainty. As a 20 something year old- let me tell you that it’s not looking promising when things are yet to stabilize in your life and career.
Post numerous soul searching conversations with my friends, I’ve realized that these 4 aspects below are basically a gold mine for me to master . As I try to get better at these, maybe they can help you hit the brakes when everything else is getting too fast to control?
Find a balance between optimizing vs impulsiveness
I think that the main tension of being in your 20’s is the battle between optimizing all your experiences to something more concrete vs making impulsive decisions, since we have a limited time frame. What we fail to understand is that we do not have to choose between either because BOTH are absolutely necessary.
Your 20’s is all about figuring yourself and the adult world out! Having an unparalleled drive to succeed is great, but caution yourself to not go overdrive. Remind yourself that living life on a whim, is a fun way to learn lessons too. Dedicate energy to your job, but realize that if it isn’t adding value to your life, try another lane. Date tons of people. OR don’t. Be intentful and purposeful, but try to enjoy it as you dance to its tunes.
Relax on the career goals, will ya? (for now at least…)
Considering my personality, I will admit, I sound 100% like a hypocrite for saying this. BUT here’s the thing- most of our #1 priority at this time is “FINDING OUR DREAM JOB”.
We’re so lost whilst on this quest of finding our dream destination, that we can’t ever step back and credit ourselves for sustaining this process! What’s worse is we also fail to realize that most people probably take decades to identify what they love doing.
Someone reminded me the other day, to be kinder to myself because there isn’t really ONE set journey to discovering your dream. Easier said than done, but having it play as a background score in my head, serves as a reassurance that things might just be OK at the end!
Invest time into your hobbies
Because we are workhorses in the making, we literally become our resume. ZERO PERSONALITY. And all the conversations revolve around work and next steps to success. BUT when you ask yourself what defines YOU, I am most certain your job (you work SO HARD for), does not even qualify to define a quarter of what makes you, you.
Imagine if we all stopped to fret over that ONE professional commitment and instead invest that energy into some of our other shades? How much more color would that add to our lives?! We might be expected to not have “serious obligations” in our 20’s, but we sure do have interests that we CAN prioritize. It’s a step toward unwinding yourself! And when you do that, boy will you realize the personality your life lacked!
Safeguard those special relationships
Maintain the bonds with your day 1’s, your family, your CREW. Stay connected with everyone that stuck with you through thick and thin. That’s the only way to get through. I am a strong believer in this and I TRY real hard to keep at it (even though it gets to the point where I get annoying… no shame!).
We live in a time and age where expanding your base is encouraged. New people, new places and new experiences! But when all this newness gets to you, it’s comforting to know that you have your close group, that you’ve safeguarded, to always lean back on. It makes you realize that while you’re embarking on a crazy journey, nothing beats fostering relationships that helped/will help you get there.
One last thing. We’re all so caught up in making the most of every opportunity that sometimes we forget that we’re only just starting off in our lives.Not every decision needs to be “right” or the “effective” one. Training yourself to think this way can help you from that future 30 year old you thinking- “Man, I wish I wasn’t so stir crazy on establishing myself that I forgot to chill and have fun”. Times are not on our side at the moment, but hey, at least we do have our free will and our passionate spirit to exploit until the next decade arrives to conquer!
