I ran a company for over 20 years. I ran it at the speed of light. The result was it ran me into the ground and I suffered from burnout. I went from running from meeting to meeting and constant growth to what felt like a dead stop.
Thankfully I had been preparing a business that could run without me for the last five years.
At it’s worst, I was barely able to hold my head up or safely drive my car. I would get into the office an hour prior to the rest of the staff but would spend 40 minutes trying to nap. Driving my car became difficult. I would pull over to nap so I could continue my journey safely. I sold my business in 2017 and started my journey to recovery.
They say health is wealth and it is the truth.
As owners, we are trained to be on point, generate revenue, save jobs and keep the great ship sailing. We are not talking about or teaching each others about the importance of self care. This is something I had to learn as I had no other choice.
Burnout is preventable. It did not happen overnight. I started to have less and less energy. My focus started to fade and it became more difficult to read. My brain started to enter a state of fog. If you start to see these signs, your body is begging you to slow down and take a break.
Here are the things I did to recover:
1. Find time every day to recharge. Do something to relax.
2. Spend more time with friends and family and less time running from meeting to meeting.
3. Be fully present and in the moment as often as possible.
4. Find a hobby that sparks passion.
5. Make self care a priority.
6. Sleep more.
7. Improve nutrition.
8. Come to peace that there is only so much you can do in a day and balance and quality are better than quantity.
Burnout can be a beautiful lesson in rewiring your life. I learned to value my time, my friends and taking care of my body. It will truly teach you to slow down to the speed of the present moment and that health is wealth.
Kayla Storlid is a Visionary Healer at the Heart Rock Discovery Center in Madison, Wisconsin.