Burnout happens by default. Here's how to change that.

"I quit."

My boss asked how my holiday was, and these were the first words out of my mouth.

Whoops!

The words were blurted out, and I had no idea where they came from. 

Looking back, I can see that my mind and body had reached their limit.

I was completely burnt out. All the signs were there; I just hadn’t been paying attention.

Over the following days, I decided not only to quit my job, but to leave Sydney and move to Brisbane. Where I only had one friend. And no job.

I asked myself three questions:

• What do I want my life to look like?

• What am I no longer willing to tolerate?

• What needs to change so this doesn’t happen again? 

I set myself some big goals.

And more than 25 years on, I have achieved them.

These didn’t happen by accident.

Too many people think sustainable success comes from:

• working harder

• pushing through

• or escaping the current situation.

As I learned, sustainable success isn’t about escape. It’s about design.

And the only person who can deliberately design how you work, lead, and live, is you.

The problem is, most of us don’t.

Too many of us default to whatever the culture around us rewards. And at work, this often looks like:

• long hours

• constant availability

• pushing through the warning signs.

This is how burnout becomes normalised.

If this is what your workplace looks like, what are you doing to create an environment where people can do their best work? And not burnout in the process?

A simple place to start is to ask:

What does great work look like in my team, and what needs to change to make that possible without burning people out?

If you don’t define it, your culture will default to what’s always been done.

One thing I know for sure is that burnout happens by default. And sustainable success happens by design.

Mel xx

P.S. If this is something you’re thinking about right now, let’s talk. I’m working with leaders and teams to build sustainable success, without burnout.