Burnout can manifest in all sorts of terrible ways, impacting our physical health, mental health and more. One consequence of my burnout a few years ago became clear only after I had overcome it. I’m sharing this clarity with you, so that you can connect these (maybe) familiar feelings to their root cause and make more informed decisions because of it.
https://unsplash.com/@mikaylamallek Woman sitting on grey rug with laptop and cell phone.
I could not imagine getting a new job.
At the time, I didn’t think I was burned out. I just thought I was in a funny place in my career path. In hindsight I can see that I was so burned out that I couldn’t tell the difference between my logical thinking and my burnout thinking. My burnout told me that I could not get a new job because:
I didn’t have transferrable skills.
After being in my job and one company for a long time I thought that my skills were so customized to that role and that company’s needs, that I couldn’t see all the abilities I had that would be valuable elsewhere.
The parts of my job that I liked did not exist anywhere else.
Like so many women I talk to who are conflicted about their jobs, I had a lot of reasons why I liked my role and my company. I just plain couldn’t imagine finding another job that gave me the things that I valued so deeply about my job.
Have you ever doubted your transferrable skills and/or your ability to find a new job that would satisfy you in the ways your current job does? This is not healthy thinking, you guys. This is your burnout brain talking. Of course you have transferrable skills. You have a job—you have transferrable skills. Other positions are not going to be identical to what you’re currently doing. But they may offer you benefits that you don’t get in your current role. Maybe your current job makes you feel really fulfilled. There are other fulfilling jobs for you—and they may even come with a kinder supervisor and better PTO packages. If you are feeling stuck, remember:
Your current situation is not necessarily indicative of your potential.
However, if you don’t stop burnout from hijacking your thinking, your potential won’t be realized. You are not your burnout. Recognize it’s voice, uninvite it to your mind, and plan your next move. You can do whatever you want to do. You just have to do something different from what you’ve been doing to make it happen.