Preventing Workplace Burnout by Revisiting the Basics of Success

by Lora | Jan 15, 2019 | Burnout

If you’re a high achiever with a desire for excellence, the journey to success can be as exhilarating as it is demanding. Whether it’s career success, entrepreneurship, mastering relationships, or delving into personal growth, the pursuit of success involves continuous improvement. Which can lead to exhaustion, overwhelm, and burnout. Especially when you’ve hit a wall, and feel like no matter what you do, you can’t get ahead.

The solution to breaking free from frustration and finding the success you desire is, paradoxically, to quit driving forward and to build up the basics instead.

Building Block Basics

One of my children never crawled. He went straight from sitting, to standing, to walking, within nine months. Which we thought was great! Until he turned two. At age two, we learned that he was unable to climb, or do any type of cross-body, opposing movements like other children his age. Because he had not developed the requisite core strength that is developed through crawling. So, at age two we had to go back to the basics and teach him how to crawl.

What areas of career or life did you experience fast growth? What foundational building blocks might have been missed for you? Could the lack of those foundational elements be what’s holding you back today?

The Importance of Strong Foundations

The higher the tower, the stronger the foundation that’s necessary. The more success you desire, the stronger the foundation you need. Regardless of how much of an “expert” you are, when you want to get to the next level, shoring up your foundation is often the catalyst for growth you need.

Clean up your bad habits, improve upon the skills you never fully mastered, and take time to refresh yourself on what you already know. Especially if you feel frustrated, burned out, or stuck.

Going for More in 2024

No matter what it is you want to accomplish in 2024, revisit the basics before launching ahead. Unsure of where to begin? If you were mentoring someone who one day wanted to be where you are now, where would you have them begin? What are some basic skills they might need?

Make 2024 the year to take a hard look at your mental, spiritual, and physical foundations and make the necessary adjustments. Rebuild what’s crumbling or boldly demolish the old and begin again anew. Use stronger building materials or build your foundation in an entirely new location.

Stop pushing forward, banging your head in frustration, and burning yourself out and give yourself permission to pause, rewind, and spend time working on the basics. Because the work you put in now, forms the foundation you need to prevent burnout and sustain success.