How Living Out of Alignment Causes Burnout

WHY A CHECKUP ON YOUR VALUES AND PERSONAL ALIGNMENT IS A POWERFUL TOOL THAT CAN HELP PREVENT WHAT CAUSES BURNOUT, STRESS, AND ANXIETY TO TAKE HOLD.

What do you do when you feel burnout? Do you know what causes burnout for you? How do you manage when each day is full of feelings of stress, anxiety or just a general lack of joy in life? Unfortunately, the modern lifestyle (combined with living through a pandemic) has caused many of us to be living out of alignment with how we were meant to live as human beings. Sadly, living out of alignment causes significantly increased symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression and burnout. But how? And what do we do about it?

THERE ARE 2 MAIN WAYS THAT WE CAN BE LIVING OUT OF ALIGNMENT.

The first way depends on going back and understanding some key concepts in human history. Right from the beginning of humankind, we were hunters and gatherers. We lived together in tribes and villages. Our needs were simple and there was a connection to people, land and rituals. The men would work together surrounded by their friends and family daily. The women too would often work together with the children playing. Work would start early, but it finished earlier too. Families would then spend time together resting, drinking, cooking and singing. There were more rituals in the days, and we spent much more time celebrating.

This lifestyle is what our genetics evolved for! To be in the community. To connect with the land, with our culture and with rituals. We were meant to truly live life.

But what happened to this connection-focused way of life?

Along came the Agricultural Revolution. We started seeing shifts in the way people lived. But the really big changes happened during the industrial revolution. We started seeing nicer houses sure, but we started seeing less connection. People worked longer and the workplace culture shifted from being community to just work colleagues. People lost connection with nature, with their rituals and they no longer had time to spend with their friends or even family. This is when we started to see symptoms of burnout. The Industrial Revolution was geared around profit and creating an economy; it was not built for people to thrive as human beings.

And now in the age of technology that pulls towards profitability has only increased. More and more people are spending time in unnatural environments with situations and create stress. We are isolated and thanks to technology work tends to bleed into personal life often.

So, what can we do to create more alignment and help reduce symptoms of anxiety and burnout? My favourite is to start building own rituals in life. Things like taking long lunches with friends, having an afternoon siesta, Sunday roast, sitting and drinking wine by the fire. Or you can consciously choose to get outside more, start a veggie patch, or anything else that brings you back to that feeling of connection with nature or with the community.

THE SECOND WAY PEOPLE LIVE OUT OF ALIGNMENT IS BEING OUT OF ALIGNMENT WITH YOUR VALUES.

This comes down to knowing what your core beliefs are. What is important to you in life? What do you stand for when push comes to shove? What are your beliefs? And who do you want to be? When life is messy, and we start stepping away from these values it can leave us feeling stuck. Like something is “off”. Living out of alignment with your values is a sure way to lead to feelings of stress and anxiety in life. Quite simply because everything is going to feel in conflict.

If you are feeling out of alignment here; pause and check in. Taking some time to sit with this is so important because left unchecked – this feeling of un-aligment causes burnout. Do you know what your core values are? Try doing visualisation and asking yourself what you want your legacy to be? In short – what do you want to be known for? It might be integrity or creativity. Freedom or impact. You choose. Get clear on what it is that you will not tolerate regardless of how hard it is to stand up to.

SO WHAT CAN WE DO TO FIND OUR ALIGNMENT AGAIN AND REDUCE WHAT CAUSES BURNOUT?

Know that we all have moments where we lose our balance in life. Our modern lifestyle means we need to work a bit harder to consciously bring alignment back. But it is worth it. If you are experiencing symptoms of burnout or anxiety, I really encourage you to try some of these strategies. Get clear on what your values are. Slow down. Build rituals. And as much as you can try to build a connection again. These strategies are not going to help overnight but they will help you to alleviate some of those feelings of stress and hopefully; they will help you find joy again.

I know that this whole process can feel a bit ‘too hard’ sometimes. You might feel stuck and have no idea how to find yourself again. I know how much you want to find this alignment and calm again though. So, I have developed a beautiful course called “The Life Reset and Transformation Project”  to help you pause and reset. We know that being out of alignment causes burnout – but to find that alignment means tugging on the cycles, thoughts, and habits that are keeping us down. Together we will reflect, redefine, redesign and realign your life with clear, clinically proven strategies. I’m here to help you – are you ready?