Signs of Stress: A Career Burnout Survival Guide

How to Regain Your Power

Meet Joel. There are many Joels on our planet I think he will be familiar to you.

Signs of Stress: A Career Burnout Survival Guide/Photograph by Dani Kaplan

Joel looks down and remains silent much of the day.  Is there something bothering him? Is there anything keeping him awake at night? To others, Joel is distant, withdrawn and projects deep despair. His mind is cluttered, and it is hard for him to rise above the surface chaos of his very private maze. These are just a few of the signs of stress he is experiencing.

Joel’s struggles have been escalating for years. In truth, Joel has a host of problems. But there is one that overrides all others: Joel hates his job.

He has an enviable corporate position (of course, in this economy, some would declare that any corporate position is envied). He has logged over a decade of service and enjoys a degree of seniority.

Joel starts each day hoping to find career inspiration. He wishes for meaningful challenges and fulfillment.

Actually, he is challenged. Alas, it has mostly been in the negative sense. Getting up every morning and heading toward his office is a dread-filled challenge. His schedule is overloaded with appointments and meetings he finds meaningless and exhausting. His CEO demands performance that is impossible for anyone to achieve.

Did I mention that Joel is in sales? Life in a pressure cooker! Impossible sales quotas, limited resources and recalcitrant prospects define Joel’s working hours.

He has become overly aggressive, fighting to beat his stiff competition. And of course, this fuels his daily stress like gasoline on an open flame. The more he “plays the game”, the more difficult it gets. And the more hopelessness he feels.  Signs of Stress?

His travel and work schedule keeps him away from his family, and he is
overloaded with prospecting, sales calls and that bane of all salespeople: paperwork.

Adding to his problems, his company is in trouble. Receivables are too high, the bank is threatening to call the line of credit and revenue is shrinking. Of course, creditors are threatening to cut off supplies and services. Even though Joel is not in the financial side of the business, he hears things. Disturbing things. Will he see a paycheck next week or not?

In fact, the company is late paying his salary by thirty days. He has not been able to cover his bills for several months, and he is mounting up huge debts.

The career payback for Joel? Fatigue and a short-temper. His job performance is diminishing and his colleagues complain that the atmosphere around him and others in the company is stressful and
tense.

At this point, Joel spends no quality time with his family. His wife feels neglected, his intimate life is nonexistent and his children feel abandoned. In the midst of all this, he lives a sense of urgency to continue to provide the same lifestyle he has been giving them for the last twelve years.

Joel is also isolating himself from the world and his friends are disappearing. Life has become lonely and too difficult to bear.

Joel’s life can be summed up in two words: unfulfilled and angry. He is mired in a path that makes his life miserable. He feels worthless, dis-empowered, tired, stressed out, anxious and insecure. He also feels hopeless about finding another job.

As a result, Joel is developing serious health issues. He has high blood pressure, and sometimes he feels as though he is about to pass out. These are serious signs of stress.

Joel also suffers from insomnia and his immune system is becoming compromised: to the point that he exhibits a series of symptoms that confuse and concern his doctors.

Why do people like Joel wait to see their lives collapsing around them before they wake up and become compelled to find a solution? Why do people need to be desperate before they take action? One reason is that many people become addicted to suffering. It becomes a familiar and “comfortable” state that they accept almost without question.

Many never escape this trap. Others recognize it when it is too late. A heart attack, stroke, divorce or other life-changing event appears. And some recognize it before tragedy sets in. they are the lucky ones who turn their lives around.

What could Joel do to find an answer? His problems can be lessened, or perhaps resolved entirely if he decides to take true care of himself.

A good starting point is the realization that he has no ability to control other people but that many circumstances are within his power to change.

Joel will develop certainty that he can affect change in his life by transforming the only thing that he has the power to control: himself. If he makes the effort to get out of his own prison and starts contemplating
his true essence an oasis of wisdom will flow into his life and tangible solutions will suddenly present themselves.

However, most people are afraid to delve deeply into themselves and prefer to remain in the comfort of their outside experience: even if it means drama, suffering and pain. Real answers don’t come from the outside world. They come from the depths of our inner wisdom.

What do I mean by that? The solutions to our suffering are both simple and profound: we can tap into the waters of the Universal Consciousness, where creativity and inspiration abide. Behind every problem, there is a spiritual solution that awaits us in this beautiful ocean of true, healing wisdom fed by a stream of Universal Truth.

Even in the midst of all Joel’s challenges there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Joel’s life can change. He can transform his chaos into an extraordinary experience. With guidance and support, a person like Joel can alter his reality. He can transform the feelings of a victim into feelings of a powerful being. You can never know your power until you know who you truly are. “And when you find yourself, you find what you are looking for.” Stan Sanderson.

There are methods that can lead you to this ocean of Universal Truth. And once you arrive at its shore, you can immerse yourself in light and healing power. Then, you will surely change your circumstances for the better.

How do you arrive at the shore? Through regular meditative practices. Not necessarily the Indian variety of the Siddah and other Eastern practices. You can also get there through contemplation and prayer. The keys to success: “meditate” without distraction and often.
You can also consult with a powerful Transformational Life Coach.

Here are some methods you can use to relieve stress and anxiety:

1. Meditate every day at least twenty minutes. There is no better way for you to get in touch with yourself.

2. Remember that causes create effects: Assume responsibility for every act, analyzing the outcome beforehand.

3. Learn the process of personal creation so that you can evolve with determination. This process allows you to be your own life architect, shifting your perceptions about existence and realizing your desires. You can start this journey by reading books and viewing programs that teach manifestation techniques.
4. Write an inventory of your blessings. Include all the wonderful things life has offered you. This helps you remember to express gratitude for all of life’s gifts. Not just the “positive” ones, but the difficult, painful ones as well. They may seem as attacks at in the present, but they ultimately reveal themselves as the most precious of all gifts. Remember: there are no “negatives”. There are only positives that are still unfolding.
5. Become aware of your internal and external language. Your dialogues are like seeds. They either bring prosperity or lack. Joy or fear.
6. Discard all thoughts of victimhood and take responsibility for your life. Don’t blame anyone for your circumstances. You are the architect of your existence.
7. Do not jump to conclusions. Understand the context of the situations before you make any judgments about yourself or others.
8. Listen to beautiful and harmonious music. It will relax you.
9. Smile, smile, smile. Even if it’s difficult. Every time you smile you are sending a message to your brain that things are well. Your brain will shower you with endorphins that make you feel better.
10. Sing any time you find an opportunity. Sing in the shower, in the car, wherever you are. This is an affirmation to the Universe that life is good, and you will attract more gifts of life.

I would like to close with a message I recently received in a newsletter that inspired me to be grateful for every blessing in my life. This may help you see your problems in a different light, and perhaps some of the weight of your burden will be lifted.

Spiritual Wealth – The Road Map to a Rich Life By Alexander Green, Investment Director of The Oxford Club and author of The New York Times bestseller “The Gone Fishing’ Portfolio: Get Wise, Get Wealthy… and Get On With Your Life”:

“According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), every year 9.7 million children under five die easily preventable deaths. That’s over 1,100 every hour of every day.
Some of these children die because they don’t have enough to eat, others from easily treatable conditions like malaria, measles or diarrhea. This is not only an immense tragedy but a moral stain on a world as rich as ours.
The World Bank reports that 1.4 billion men and women around the world currently live on less than $1.25 a day.

A survey of over 60,000 of them in 73 countries found that extreme poverty like this means:

. You probably live in an unstable house, made of mud or thatch that is liable to collapse in severe weather.
. You lack adequate food, education, clothing, sanitation, and health care.
. You often eat one meal a day, sometimes having to choose between stilling your child’s hunger or your own.
. You have no safe drinking water. (Or you may need to carry your water a long way and, even then, it may not be safe until you boil it.)
. If a family member becomes ill and you need money to see a doctor, you may have to borrow from a moneylender who charges usurious rates – and you may never be free of the debt.
. You have a pervading sense of powerlessness, misery and shame because you cannot provide adequately for your family.

In the West, we tend to think we’re living a morally good life if we aren’t doing anything to hurt anyone else. But what are we doing to alleviate the suffering of others?

It’s not just a matter of ethics. It’s a matter of conscience.
Giving to the poor is a tenet of every major faith. The Hebrew word for “charity,” teach, means “justice,” suggesting that giving to the poor is not optional but an essential part of living a just life.
The Bible contains over three thousand references to alleviating poverty, making this a central moral issue for Christians. Jesus said it is how we act toward “the least of these brothers of mine” that will determine whether we inherit the kingdom of God.”

Article Source: www.associatedcontent.com/article/5538292/signs_of_stress_a_career_burnout_survival.html