As a fellow burnt out engineer, I can relate to someone who has lost the zeal for learning new skills to beef up one’s resume, working overtime/ weekends or being on top of everything to do with their job. The mind has a great ability to rationalize the reason including:
👎My manager is from hell
👎My company is still in the mediaeval ages & see all their employees as slaves
👎My industry is in a bust period
👎A/”The” recession is coming
👎I want to work from home all the time but I m not allowed to
👎I chose the wrong field, I really wanted to be a doctor or Mother Theresa, etc. etc.
However, I would challenge you to go beyond these superficial reasons that our mind throws up to distract us from the real underlying root cause. And why would our mind distract us like this? It’s a self protection mechanism designed to help us survive.
It was useful when we were cavemen. Doing a complete overhaul of our core beliefs, lifestyle and goals was risky instead of sticking to what we knew worked no matter how dissatisfied we were. (We may be unhappy but at least we were alive! It was all about priorities then!)
So coming back to the topic… why are you burnt out? Well, I can only speak for myself, and the reason I was burnt out was because I was climbing the corporate ladder that was leaning against the wrong wall.
In other words, the lifestyle that I would accomplish if I succeeded in my career was not something I wanted in the first place! And the more I mulled over the lifestyle of my President, CEO, Senior Managers, etc. the more I realized that it wasn’t what I wanted after 20-30 years of hard work.
But that realization only happened once I wrote down what was my dream lifestyle instead of what society wanted for me (an exercise I encourage everyone to do sincerely). For me it included
✅spending time with family
✅waking up when my body was rested
✅travelling the world
✅having enough money and time to never have to worry
✅playing basketball
✅other hobbies, etc.
For others it could be being the best in their field, working all the time, showing up on CNBC interviews, etc. But if you’re burnt out I’m guessing that’s not YOU. You want FREEDOM more than anything else.
And your zeal will be back to full swing once you start working on a business or a vehicle that can get you to freedom and your dream lifestyle in the next 2-5 years.
That is the real antidote for burn out. Real Hope..
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