Burnout may be the tagline for Millennial’s, but I never thought about how it would affect the world during a global pandemic. That is, not until it happened. But there is a bright side to pandemic-induced burnout.
I’ve always thought of the term burnout as it relates to work. People would burnout when they were doing work they were passionate about, but that exhausted them. Or they’d burnout when they were doing a job that was soul-sucking, time-sucking, and energy-sucking.
But I’d never thought of burnout as a way of living. That is, not until COVID-19.
Recently I read that Millennials are considered the burnout generation. Several reasons were cited, of which I won’t go into here, but what I found particular fascinating is this idea of burnout as a way of life. As I read, it stated that for Millennials, it’s not a temporary condition. It’s a way of existing in the world.
That’s what I feel like COVID-19 has done to all of us. It’s made burnout our current way of existing. But don’t despair. There is good news ahead.
Creativity
At the beginning of the lock-downs across the world, creativity took a HUGE spike. It seemed like everyone and their brother took up a new creative hobby. From sourdough bread making, to bookbinding, guitar playing, and puppetry, it seemed like everyone was taking advantage of the extra time indoors.
At this point we were anticipating things to resume the status quo quickly. Our thoughts were short-term… like 3-6 weeks short-term, a timeframe vastly different from our reality.
Exhaustion
When we realized that this little virus was putting up a considerable fight, and the third, and then the fourth, month went by, it became clear that we were going to have to pace ourselves. Our sprint had turned into a marathon. Life had to continue on in a new way and we had to scramble to get our bearings and continue to do the mundane tasks of eating, sleeping and pooping.
We’d sprinted the first 10 miles, only to realize that we had 16 more to go.
Resilience
Then came a resurgence of energy. We decided that if we were going to kick this thing, we’d need to exercise resilience. We knuckled under and pulled out our combat boots. This too shall pass became our motto and we endured under the auspice that it would bring about positive change.
And after a few months of this cheerleader in combat boots trying to motivate us with a weird mix of tough love and rainbows, we were still exhausted and we were still told we needed to keep. holding. on.
Burnout
Here’s where burnout entered. Burnout is that feeling of not being able to do it one. more. time. Burnout is trying to convince your child that distance learning is fun for the sixth month, with a straight face. It’s driving passed playgrounds that are still boarded up, running back into the house for the mask you forgot before heading to the grocery store. It’s that guilty exhausted feeling you get when you tell yourself, I should really be doing… It’s what we begin feeling when it’s all just too much.
But here’s the good news. The way I see it, there’s only two more stages we have to get through before we emerge transformed, at peace, and ready to move forward, eyes wide open.
We’re more than half way there, and we’re still standing (or sitting… sitting is good too). So sit back, and let that cheerleader in combat boots know she did good. We’ll be back on our feet soon.
Surrender To What’s Yet To Come
As someone with anxiety (like the clinical type… not the emotional state) I have to be careful about looking into the future too much. But in this case, I’ve made an exception. There’s no need to candy coat it, because the view is already sweet.
The second to the last phase I think we have to go through (and perhaps you’re already there) is some level of surrender. To give up trying to make it work, and accept that it will be what it will be.
Keep in mind, this is very different from hopelessness. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. To surrender is to recognize that we don’t have control of everything we wish we could. That we don’t get to call all the shots, and that’s okay. That we will be okay, or even better than okay! By the way, it’s the that’s okay part that’s most important.
We don’t have to have all the answers right now. That isn’t even possible in practical terms. What we need is a little faith – in ourselves, our fellow humans, the future, and in whatever higher power we believe in. As much as we feel like we’re experiencing this in isolation, we’re truly in this together… on a really big together scale… like universal.
Acceptance
The final stage of this wild ride we’ve named COVID is acceptance. Acceptance that life is different now, and that’s okay. Our sense of ignorant safety has been forever challenged and we’ll continue living out our lives with a bit more awareness and a bit more gratitude for what we have. A bit more compassion, and a bit more acceptance.
Letting go of our need for control. Surrendering to the collective good of the world and trusting that all will be well. Accepting the guidance of our intuition, even when it says things we don’t like. These are the antidotes to burnout as a way of life. And this is the way we will come out of our current situation, changed for the better.
Burnout may be a stage of this process, but it’s not our final destination. It’s something we may have to go through, but it doesn’t need to be where we buy real estate.
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