Are you interested in seeing all the best strategies for combating burnout in one place? If so, then this guide is for you!
This comprehensive list is a robust exploration of 125 science-backed burnout prevention strategies you can try today.
For added convenience, use the categories to narrow in on the best strategies for you quickly.
Let’s dive right into the list.
125 Burnout Prevention Strategies Infographic
CATEGORY 1:
Self-Awareness Strategies
01. Become More Self-Aware
Self-awareness is when you shift your attention to your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and urges– as they unfold.
It’s the first step to change and growth, to understanding what makes you the unique individual you are.
Regularly checking in with yourself is directly related to emotional intelligence and success.
Improve your self-awareness skills by practicing mindfulness exercises such as mindfulness breathing.
02. Identify Your Core Values
Your core values are formed from childhood and guide you through your everyday decision-making process, playing an essential role in who you become.
Straying from your core values causes internal conflict, hinders your personal growth, and leads to a decline in your physical and mental health.
Non-negotiable, your top values will help you with self-control, act as a moral guide, and help you experience fulfillment and achieve optimal well-being.
Some personal values to live by today are joy, love, patriotism, integrity, laughter, and achievement.
03. Be More Intentional
Being intentional is knowing your core values and what you’re aiming for in life and then taking steps to make it happen.
Living with intention, being purposeful with your time, and thinking about what you want to accomplish, increases self-confidence and happiness. You’re more likely to think things through and make good choices.
Choosing to be more intentional decreases daily stress and heightens overall well-being.
Becoming more intentional helps you make more values-based actions, propelling you towards your most important goals; you achieve both short-term and long-term success.
Ways you can start living more intentionally are decluttering your home, having a clear structure for your day, and defining your priorities and goals.
04. Trust Your Instincts
Strengthening your intuition and trusting your instincts can positively influence behavior and bring value to complex decision-making.
Your gut feelings help you predict and prepare for what will happen next and are often valuable in detecting deception and other forms of danger.
The more you listen to your gut feelings and go with what your intuition tells you, the stronger it will become at helping you avoid potentially stress-inducing situations and burnout.
05. Build Self-Discipline
As a significant element of personal development and growth, self-discipline positively affects all areas of our well-being.
It’s the first step to achieving greatness and essential for combating and preventing burnout.
Benefits of self-discipline:
- It puts you in the fast lane to achieving your goals
- A disciplined person makes wiser decisions overall
- A disciplined person has abundant inner strength and character
- It increases your chances of succeeding in life
- It’s essential for preventing and combating burnout
- You will enjoy more meaningful relationships in life
How to be more disciplined:
- Identify and write down clear goals to get yourself motivated
- Write down your strengths and weaknesses
- Please don’t wait for it to feel right
- Create an environment without temptations
- Start small and build momentum
- Lean on a friend as an accountability partner
06. Know Your Life Purpose
Shaping your goals and guiding your decisions in life, your purpose influences your behavior, giving you a sense of direction. It’s what motivates you to get up in the morning.
A low level of purpose in life increases your risk of dying early.
When you know your life’s purpose, you’ll live each day to the fullest, creating a more meaningful existence.
A purpose-driven life helps you
- Stay focused
- Find your flow
- Live a life of integrity
- Control your responses to situations
- Keep going in the face of obstacles and uncertainty
- Reduce the risk of chronic disease
- Stay mentally and physically fit
07. Create Your Personal Mission Statement
Tightly aligned with your purpose and core values, your personal mission statement is your unique plan for success that reaffirms who you are, spotlights your goals into focus, and moves your ideas into the real world.
Your mission statement, built from your personality traits, skills, dreams, and passions, clarifies if your short-term decision-making invests in your long-term goal fulfillment.
You can use some great templates from Hubspot marketing to create yours.
Hubspot Marketing Templates Below
1. To [what you want to do] by [how you’ll do it] so that [what impact you hope to make].
Example — “To serve as a leader by encouraging innovation and forward-thinking so that my employees can create technology that will improve the lives of those in developing countries.”
2. I value [one or multiple things you value] because [why it matters to you]. To do this, I will [how your professional path will align with these values].
Example — “I value education because I believe it can help women get involved in politics and become world leaders. To do this, I will teach women’s studies on policy and law.”
3. To use my [skills or expertise] to inspire/lead [group of people] so that [ultimate goal].
Example — “To use my skills as a journalist to inspire people so that they are educated about the world around them and are energized to make a change.”
08. Increase Your Mental Flexibility
Psychological flexibility leads to healthier outcomes allowing you to stay calm in challenging situations and cope with difficulties more easily.
It allows you to recognize and adapt to various situational demands and maintain balance among essential life domains.
It helps you experience a full range of emotions without getting stuck in any mental or emotional state.
How to be more flexible in life:
- Accept what you can’t change
- Step back from your thoughts
- Focus on the present
- See the bigger picture
- Live by your values
- Take some risks
09. Boost Your Spiritual Health
Meaning different things to different people; spiritual wellness is associated with better health and well-being, benefiting your mind and body.
Spirituality enables and propagates us to discover our true selves.
Practicing spiritual wellness
- Increases compassion, empathy, and attention
- Quiets the mind
- Helps you overcome hardships
- Allows people to make healthier choices
10. Live In The Present
Worrying about the future and reliving the past invites stress and anxiety to take over your life.
Staying present means focusing on each moment of the day and nothing else. It is the here and now, and nothing else matters.
It’s incredible how much we miss out on while living in the past and stressing about the future.
Step into a world of calm serenity that lives in the present moment.
11. Focus On Your Future, Not The Past
It can be easy to dwell on the past and get stuck wondering what might have been, sending yourself down the path of anxiety and burnout.
Some ways to practice self-care by focusing on your future are to practice gratefulness, accept negativity as lessons, and learn to see a better lot.
12. Create A Sense Of Belonging
Having a sense of belonging is a basic human need.
A feeling of not belonging can cause depression, anxiety, and many other mental health challenges.
A feeling of belonging:
- Improves your motivation, health, and happiness
- It helps you see the value in life
- It allows you to navigate difficult situations more effectively
- It makes you more resilient
How to create a sense of belonging:
- Believe you are worthy
- Let go of your judgments
- Look for similarities with others
- Accept each other’s differences
13. Understand The Wisdom In The Serenity Prayer
A recipe for action and good health, the Serenity Prayer offers guidance and wisdom for all life’s problems, regardless of religious orientation.
The prayer, written by theologian-philosopher Reinhold Niebuhr, is commonly quoted as follows:
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”
The Serenity Prayer also acts as a mantra that can help distract you from negative thoughts, fight temptations, and help you work towards goals.
14. The Power Of Prayer
The positive psychological and emotional impacts of prayer help counteract the adverse effects that stress and burnout have on our health.
Prayer helps stress management by stopping the release of cortisol- the stress hormone.
Individuals who pray:
- Find clarity in complex situations
- Feel less lonely
- Experience less anxiety
- Report lower feelings of anger
- Effectively prevent and cope with burnout
15. Develop A Positive Mental Attitude
A positive mindset does more than boost your mood– it can affect your physical reality too.
Your mindset plays a decisive role in your overall health and well-being.
A positive mindset can encourage healthier eating, heighten your confidence levels, and combat symptoms of burnout.
Start a mental shift in your thinking by beginning the day with positive affirmations, reframing your thoughts, and attaining an attitude of gratitude throughout your day.
CATEGORY 2:
Self-Compassion Strategies
16. Listen To Your Body
When it comes to burnout, listening to your body is critical.
It’s tough for most of us to evaluate ourselves.
There are endless signals your body will give to let you know you’re en route to burnout, including headaches, clamminess, panic attacks, shortness of breath, or digestive issues, to name a few.
Pay attention to your body’s early warning signs.
Take some time to slow down and connect your body and mind.
17. Recognize The Warning Symptoms Of Burnout
Listening to your body will help you spot the warning symptoms of burnout and help prevent a major breakdown.
Ignoring them is a sure sign of eventual burnout.
Some burnout symptoms to watch out for:
- Constant feelings of exhaustion
- Emotional numbness
- Continual headaches and body pains
- Frequent feelings of failure and self-doubt
- Lack of creativity and purpose
- Loss of motivation
- Irritable mood toward others
- Cynical outlook
18. Identify The Sources Of Your Stress
Take time to understand and recognize the sources of your stress. The more you understand the causes of burnout, the more you can do to protect yourself.1
Plus, identifying these triggers gives you time to put a plan together beforehand to help alleviate and ease the stressful situation.
Some Causes Of Stress can include:
- Fear and uncertainty
- Attitudes and perceptions
- Unrealistic expectations
- Change
- Money Issues
- Chronic illness or injury
19. Understand Your Emotional Triggers
Knowing your emotional triggers is a crucial component of good emotional health.
They take the form of words, events, or memories and can be people, places, smells, and even colors.
When strong emotions arise, approach them with curiosity.
Self-awareness empowers you to identify and understand your emotional triggers, helping you change and regulate your actions.
20. Balance Your Social Media Intake
Overconsuming yourself with social media causes cognitive fatigue and psychological exhaustion.
If your social media intake is causing you feelings of sadness, dissatisfaction, frustration, or loneliness, it may be time to find a healthier balance.
Try reducing social media use to 30 minutes daily to reduce sleep problems, depression, and anxiety levels significantly.
21. Stop Overthinking
Getting caught up in your thoughts and not realizing that you’re overthinking makes you less creative, depletes your energy levels, and causes negative consequences on your overall health.
You’re more likely to overthink when your mental health is suffering when you have to make big decisions, or when your routines are out of whack.
Combat overthinking with mindfulness or meditation– it helps reset and declutter your mind.
22. Know When To Quit
Do you ever wonder if a goal you’re working on is even worth the hassle?
Finding the courage to quit something that’s no longer serving you (from a job to a relationship) can be challenging, but it is also a healthy decision.
Devoting your time and energy to an empty goal leads to countless health problems, ultimately leading to burnout.
"What really sets superstars apart from everyone else is the ability to escape dead ends quickly while staying focused and motivated when it really y counts."
Know yourself– learn as much as possible, get a grip on your emotions, then make the best choice.
Stop focusing on 1) the time invested and 2) your fears of missing out or making mistakes.
Instead, point your energy down the pathway to your new destination.
23. Sharpen Your Problem Solving Skills
If you’re good at resolving issues and problem-solving instead of just going into an anxiety spiral, you have excellent emotional health and lower chances of experiencing burnout.
Knowing how to solve a problem isn’t always easy, and it doesn’t come naturally to everyone.
It isn’t so much about intelligence or knowing everything and more about how you react to obstacles and challenges and what actions you choose or do not take.
Sharpen your problem-solving skills by using the power of your mind; with positive thinking and open-mindedness.
24. Combat Chronic Worrying
Always expecting the worst can negatively impact your emotional and physical health.
Challenge your anxious thoughts; see what is or isn’t in your control.
Control your thoughts by scheduling time to worry, then sticking to it.
Yoga and meditation are practical tools to combat chronic worry.
25. Ditch The Guilt Complex
Healthy, appropriate guilt is usual to feel from time to time.
A guilt complex is an unhealthy guilt that makes you feel like you did (or are about to do) something wrong.
It can be rooted in actual harm but is often centered around imagined or perceived guilt.
A guilt complex puts you in a constant state of worry and leads to poor productivity, anxiety, depression, and feelings of shame.
Don’t beat yourself up by reliving past mistakes. Start taking steps to break free from your self-imposed guilt complex. Practicing mindfulness can help you put your guilt into perspective.
Mistakes happen; learn from them, forgive yourself, then move on.
Talk to someone like your doctor or a mental health professional for help beating your guilt complex.
26. Overcome Toxic Shame
Healthy shame is what you feel when you do things contrary to your values.
Toxic shame causes depression and anxiety, alters your perception of self-worth, lowers your self-image, and floods you with constant negative thoughts.
Change your mindset and uncuff yourself from these limiting thoughts. Choose to become more self-aware and have a more positive inner dialog.
Avoid unhealthy relationships and nurture the relationships that make you feel valued.
Shame can be challenging to overcome, and enlisting the help of a mental professional can help you.
CATEGORY 3:
Self-Growth Strategies
27. Build Your Self-Confidence Muscle
Low self-confidence causes devastating consequences such as increased anxiety and the likelihood of burnout and depression.
It leads to inefficient academic and job performance and can increase your vulnerability to drug and alcohol abuse.
Build self-confidence by accepting who you are as a human being; every strength and weakness. The more you are aware of your imperfections, the quicker your self-confidence increases.
Every achievement and success, including failures, too, increases overall self-confidence.
28. Put Yourself First
Taking care of your mental health is your sole responsibility; it’s doing what’s best for you without harming others.
It’s all a matter of priorities and understanding the interplay between caring for yourself and others.
When we over-give to others without first giving to ourselves, we can deplete our vital energy, leaving none to take care of our needs.
Benefits of putting yourself first:
- Gain more respect from others
- Your needs get met
- You become happier
- Increased levels of confidence
- Less resentment towards yourself and others
29. See The Big Picture
Focusing on the bigger picture helps you prioritize, set better goals, and improve time management.
Developing a complete perspective of the situation helps you stop stressing over small things and focus on the overall view.
See the bigger picture by:
- Not letting negative thoughts compromise your rationality
- Staying focused on the current moment
- Getting plenty of sleep
30. Stop Being A Perfectionist
Striving to be a perfectionist puts strain on your mental and physical health, leading to a long list of health consequences.
A self-sabotaging mindset creates feelings of inadequacy, kills productivity, and hinders goal attainment.
Overcoming perfectionism is a must if you want to prevent or overcome burnout.
Tips on how to stop being a perfectionist:
- Don’t compare yourself to others
- Set S.M.A.R.T. goals
- Progress not perfection
- Cultivate a growth mindset
31. Stop Caring About What Others Think
It’s absolutely none of your business what others think of you.
Acceptance and approval from those around you nurture feelings of safety and lower anxiety levels. Still, it becomes a problem when caring about what others think starts to hold you back.
How to stop caring what people think:
- Focus on living according to your values
- Surround yourself with people who accept your differences and push you toward your goals
- Decide on who you’ll turn to for advice and external approval
- Disconnect yourself from toxic people
- Do more of what makes you happy
- Understand that you will never be able to please everyone
32. Stop Being A People Pleaser
People pleasing is a problematic habit that negatively affects individuals and their relationships.2 It causes anger and resentment and leads to burnout.
Stop suppressing your needs, desires, and feelings; it comes at a cost to your overall well-being.
“If you spend all day worrying about everyone else’s problems, you may not have enough mental energy to focus on achieving your goals,” says Amy Morin.
How to stop being a people pleaser:
- Become aware of your people-pleasing behaviors
- Be true to yourself
- Set healthy boundaries
- Learn to say NO
- Be honest about your feelings
33. Learn How To Say NO
Saying YES to everything leaves you exhausted, depleted, and completely burned out, resenting everything and everyone.
You are not able to do it all. Learn to say NO and take back control over your life.
Benefits to saying NO:
- Avoid exhaustion and burnout
- Make time for tasks most important to you
- Decreased stress and depression
- Better sleep and a healthier mood
- Enhanced quality of your life and relationships
- Live mindfully and in the present
- Gain more confidence and self-esteem
- It opens your eyes to new opportunities in your path
- Reach goals faster by working more efficiently
Tips on how to say NO politely:
- Stay positive, respectful, assertive, and stand your ground
- Don’t respond immediately, but don’t delay either
- Acknowledge your motivations; don’t agree just out of obligation
- Take a hard look at your schedule; do you have the time to commit to the project?
- There is no need to apologize or explain yourself
- Set boundaries and effectively communicate them to others
- Practice roleplaying by saying NO with a trusted friend
- Offer a compromise/alternative to what’s being asked
34. Promise To Stop Over-Promising
It’s not natural to overpromise to get acceptance or love. Relationships with yourself and others will inevitably fall apart by overpromising.
Making promises that put you in situations of giving more than you’re comfortable with is a recipe for resentment and burnout.
Start prioritizing what you need from yourself rather than falling prey to what others want from you.
Establish proactive boundaries better to communicate your limitations and needs in your relationships.
35. Make A Bad Situation Better
Rather than get caught up in bad situations, learn to make them better to grow in unbelievable ways.
The strength of your attitude, mindset, and self-talk will either empower or disempower you.
Don’t ignore a challenging or uncomfortable situation. Please put it in perspective and move towards a focused solution.
Removing yourself to see the bigger picture helps you see it more clearly and thoroughly.
A few tips on how to make a bad situation better are:
- Understand what role you had in the situation
- Know the outcome you wish to achieve
- Look for the value in the situation
- Set and communicate clear boundaries
- Know when to walk away
36. Reframe & Redefine Your Expectations
Thoughtful and healthy expectations motivate and provide you with something to accomplish.
However, when your expectations get too rigid, it becomes a problem and can cause significant anxiety and stress.
Have flexibility; allow room for error.
Being less attached to specific ideas allows you to be more realistic and reduces the influences of cognitive biases.
37. Know When To Ask For Help
You can’t do it all, all of the time.
Three in four people don’t ask for help until they desperately need it, which is terrible for mental health.
Not wanting to be seen as inept, moms are incredibly hesitant to ask for help.
- 13% never ask for help and suffer in silence
- 27% will ask for help when they try something new
- 53% feel like they are being held back because they never ask for help
- 57% said that just being there and listening to them is enough to help
38. Get An Accountability Partner
Having an accountability partner to hold you liable and encourage you to work on healthier habits can make a difference when preventing and overcoming burnout.
They can check in periodically, challenge you, remind you of what needs to get done, and then celebrate successes with you.
From a trusted friend to a mental health professional, they can help equip you with actionable strategies to help you build resilience. Having someone to turn to can be reassuring and enlightening too.
Burnout is a relatable experience; no need to suffer alone.
CATEGORY 4:
Self-Management Strategies
39. Plan A Reset Day
If you want a more organized life, it all starts with how you prepare, which is where planning a reset day comes in.
Sundays are perfect if you work Monday-Friday, but this applies to whichever day you have off before your work week starts.
Your reset habits will allow you to have a routine that helps you prepare for your week ahead, declutter and organize, and be ready for the week to start.
Seven habits to help you reset are:
- Review Your Week
- Prepare for the Upcoming Week
- Meal Plan and Grocery Shop
- Organize Your Office
- Go Through Your Mail
- Sort and Organize Digital Files
- Work on Your Budget
40. Know Your Outcome
Begin each day, project, or task with a clear vision of an outcome you want to produce.
The greater clarity of your destination, the higher your likelihood of achieving it. Figure out where you want to go, then start with one step at a time at making things happen.
Knowing your outcome is a simple strategy that helps minimizes the waste of your resources and energy levels and results in higher productivity with less effort.
"Know your outcome, develop the sensory acuity to know what you're getting, develop the flexibility to change your behavior until you find out what works -- and you will reach your outcome. If you don't get it, have you failed? Of course not. Like a helmsman guiding his boat, you just need to change your behavior until you get what you want."
41. Take Control Of Your Day
Is your day easily controlled by external factors such as emails, meetings, or others’ needs?
A hectic day leaves no time for routines or habits, eventually leading to burnout. Plus, you are not working at your full potential when running around aimlessly.
Taking control of your day is crucial for your mental health, sanity, and productivity.
Here’s how to start gaining control back over your days:
- Make a list of all your tasks
- Plan your day the night before
- Create processes or systems to free up time
- Stop multitasking
- Assess and review your day
42. Practice Patience
Having patience helps you deal with daily frustration.
Patient people can enjoy many mental health benefits like relief from depression, lower anxiety levels, stronger meaningful relationships, and higher levels of life satisfaction.
With a patient attitude, you stop stewing over issues and enjoy what life offers you.3
It’s never too late to start practicing patience.
How to be more patient:
- Practice accepting your current circumstances
- Build up a tolerance for being more uncomfortable
- Slow yourself down when you’re feeling rushed
- Take yourself less seriously
- Practice being a good listener
43. Create A Healthy Morning Routine
You are a creature of habit; predictable, repetitive routines positively affect your overall health, motivation, and self-esteem.
Adding routines into your day helps combat stress, anxiety, and burnout by giving you structure and organization.
Creating a healthy morning routine will significantly improve your health, help you start the day with a sense of calm and confidence, and make the rest of the day more manageable.
44. Increase Your Time Management Skills
Effective time management strategies help you feel more relaxed, focused, and controlled.
Managing your time depends significantly on your unique situation; it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach.
The key is to put a consistent strategy into place.
Emma Donaldson-Feilder, a charted occupational therapist, offers these tips on managing time.
- Figure out your goals and priorities
- Create a list of prioritized tasks
- Focus on quality work that produces results
- Plan time to enjoy a lunch break
Also, try a time management app or tool to help keep you focused and organize your tasks.
"Organize and execute around priorities."
45. Stop Procrastinating
Are you unnecessarily postponing decisions or actions? If so, stop procrastinating.
Procrastination has many destructive effects, including enhanced stress levels, incomplete tasks, blowing off opportunities, and feelings of guilt. Plus, it sabotages goals.
How to stop procrastinating:
- Create your goals
- Make your priority list
- Create your daily tasks
- Create a workspace
- Give yourself a break
- Stay focused
- Track your to-do list
- Enjoy the process
46. Implement Healthy Daily Habits
The more good habits you build, the more productive, efficient, and prosperous you can be.
The proper habits promote health and wellness, keeping you happy, well-rested, and strong.
They’re a powerful way to create a positive mindset, helping you achieve your goals with less mental energy.
The following video can start your journey to making healthy habits that align with your values.
47. Set And Write Down Clear Goals
Goals can do wonders for your mental health. They provide a sense of direction, help keep you accountable, and shed light on a sense of self.
Meeting even small goals adds happiness, confidence, and pride to your life.
You’ll be surprised by the amount of evidence to support goal-setting.
- When you write down your goals, you are 20% more likely to achieve them
- 90% of people perform better with relevant, achievable goals
- Setting actionable tasks with weekly progress reporting makes you 40% more likely to achieve your goals
- 3% or less of Americans write down their goals
- 1% or less of Americans work on their goals every day
48. Build Better To-do Lists
A massive, unrealistic to-do list is unproductive and sets you up for failure.
Your to-do list will be the secret sauce to success when done correctly.
Smaller lists are less intimidating, easier to stick to, and keep you focused on progressing your top priorities.
Setting realistic expectations and reevaluating priorities will help you perfect your daily to-do lists.
49. Plan Your Work
Stop underestimating the benefits of time planning and management.
Planning allows you to prioritize your work, getting more done in less time. It helps you determine if you are setting appropriate goals and if they’re realistic or not.
Planning helps you reduce risk, reveal weaknesses, and helps you identify unseen strengths.
Those who plan their work:
- Have increased focus
- Are more creative
- Are more relaxed throughout the day
- Schedule more time for themselves
- Enjoy a boost in confidence
- Are more efficient and less wasteful
- Make decisions more clearly
50. Take Advantage Of Your Golden Hours
Your golden hours are the time of day when you are the most energetic and have the most focus.
For you, this might be late at night when everyone is asleep, in the middle of the day, or first thing in the morning.
Pay attention to when you tend to get the most done, which is probably your peak work time.
Taking advantage of your peak work time increases productivity in less time.
51. Build Reliable Systems
Systems make things simpler and establish predictability.
Building purposeful systems with defined goals helps you identify and eliminate unnecessary work.
A well-designed system will reduce conflict and contain all the tools and information necessary to obtain the desired goal.
Systemizing tasks makes them repeatable and teachable, allowing you to delegate them more confidently.
52. Outsource Household Chores
A study from the New York Times shows that people who spend money to save time experience a boost in happiness that doesn’t occur by simply buying more stuff.
Outsourcing chores is not lazy, it’s bright, plus it gives you extra time to do things that refuel your tank and make you happy.
Letting go of some household duties can give you time to breathe.
Some chores to start outsourcing are laundry, cooking, cleaning, and organizing.
CATEGORY 5:
Self-Belief Strategies
53. Believe In Yourself
"Until you start believing in yourself, you ain't gonna have a life."
A lack of self-belief can limit you from reaching your goals or driving you to accomplish great things.
Stop reassuring yourself that you’re not good enough or smart enough– have positive values and expect good things to come your way.
Believing in yourself starts with a positive mindset. Tell yourself you have confidence, then accept it.
Overcoming self-doubt will make you more motivated to follow your dreams; better equipped to face obstacles.
54. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a process of centering thoughts to bring peace, serenity, and calmness, engaging fully with what you can see, hear, and feel.
It’s about slowing down and being present in the moment.
Mindfulness helps relieve stress, reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, and improve self-esteem and concentration.
Practicing gratitude and focusing on your breath are two awesome mindfulness activities to get you started.
55. Keep A Journal
Keeping a journal is a powerful tool to help build self-awareness and practice self-reflection.4
It’s a great way to organize and record your thoughts, feelings, and insights.5
Journaling can increase optimism and overall well-being.
Create a self-empowering journal by writing free from judgment, adding in nuggets of gratitude, and being as creative/simplistic as you like.
56. Mix In Daily Positive Affirmations
Positive affirmations rewire your brain to create more self-confidence and optimistic thinking.
It’s when you repeat words, phrases, or statements to help promote pleasant life changes.
Positive affirmations are great for improving problem-solving under stress, reducing anxiety, boosting mood, and promoting a healthier, more successful life.
57. Identify Your Strengths
Learning to use your strengths helps you deal with challenges and build resilience.
Use your strengths in adversity rather than manage your weaknesses– it generates quick decision-making and productivity.
Implementing your strengths can heighten self-confidence and alleviate stress and frustration.
Call on your family and friends to help you identify your strengths if you need help.
58. Treat Failure As Essential Learning Lessons
Failure is essential, a right of passage.
Fear paralyzes you from taking risks and pursuing your dreams and leads to stress and anxiety.
If you plan to grow and accomplish anything worthwhile, you must turn your failures into learning lessons.
Depending on what works best for you, here are some tips for overcoming the fear of failure:
- Understanding failure is not a bad thing
- Trust in yourself and your skillset
- View your mistakes as learning experiences
- Don’t try to accomplish everything all at once
- Set practical goals
- Keep a positive mindset
- Ask a professional (career/life coach) for advice
Remember, it’s only failure if you give up.
59. Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone
Getting outside your comfort zone helps thwart burnout, is good for your brain, gets you more productive, and is necessary for growth.
“Fear shows us the borders of our comfort zones. Follow your fear. It’s in the difficult and scary places that we discover who we really are.”
Having a positively uncomfortable experience can help you:
- See old problems in a new light
- Face new challenges with more energy
- Make it easier to deal with new and unexpected changes
- Discover more of who you are
60. Embrace "Just-In-Time" Learning
Embracing “just-in-time learning” is not knowing everything and taking the first step toward the goal anyway, learning and having access to the correct information at the time and place you need it most.
Learn as you go.
61. Ground Yourself
Grounding techniques are fantastic at combating distressing thoughts and managing anxiety.
They help you focus on the present moment, distracting you from anxious feelings of flashbacks, unwanted memories, and challenging emotions.
Grounding techniques bring you to focus on the present and what’s going on around you, returning your brain and feelings to a place of safety.
Some grounding techniques to try are:
- The 5 4 3 2 1 grounding technique
- Practice self-kindness
- Breath deeply
- Recite something you know by heart in your head
- Use math and numbers
- Sit with your pet
62. Find A Creative Outlet
Creative activities often have a calming effect on the body and mind.
And don’t worry – you don’t need to be artistic or have a particular skill to benefit you and help prevent or relieve burnout symptoms.
You are simply finding a hobby or activity that uses a different part of your brain to help distract you, plus it gives you something to do just for you.
63. Choose To Be Hopeful
Hope gives your life a more definite meaning and purpose.
It fuels your determination to reach your goals and makes you more resilient in adversity.
Overall, hopeful people experience less anxiety, trauma, and depression.
Strengthen your “hope muscle” by reframing your negative thoughts, focusing on your strengths, and spending time with positive, hopeful people.
64. Go Ahead And Cry It Out
Dismissing or ignoring your strong emotions can cause various physical and mental health conditions, including a compromised immune system, stress, anxiety, and depression.
Crying helps you release stress and emotional pain, cope with grief, and restore emotional balance. It lets you unload complicated feelings that can get buried deep inside.
American women cry 3.5 times each month, while American men cry about 1.9 times each month.
If you’re crying excessively, seek help.
But if you’re crying the typical amount, it’s healthy to let it out– find a safe space.
65. Laugh More
Spontaneous laughter has a stress-buffering effect that lessens depression and anxiety, making you feel happier and more relaxed.
Those who laugh more show fewer negative feelings during stressful situations.
Laughter may:
- Improve your immune system
- Relieve pain and body tension
- Increase personal satisfaction
- Improve your mood
- Improve your self-esteem.
CHAPTER 6:
Self-Investment Strategies
66. Spend Time With Family
Americans enjoy just 37 minutes of “quality time” as a family on weekdays, jumping to 2 hours and 40 minutes on weekend days.
Family is what makes life more fulfilling.
Time spent with family can refresh your mind and body, energize your soul, and make you feel like you can take on anything.
Being around family also reduces stress, improves mental health, and leaves you in a constructive frame of mind.
When loved ones surround you, sharing your anxieties or seeking guidance when you need it most is easier.
67. Spend Time With Your Pet
“Our dogs are our friends, our companions, sometimes our soul mates,” says Ree Drummond.
Evidence suggests that pets are good for human health.
68. Enjoy Meaningful Social Interactions
Social media networks create a false sense of connectedness. In-person connections with friends and family regularly promote a sense of safety, belonging, and security.
It doesn’t have to be a whole night out. A walk with a neighbor, a cup of coffee with a friend, or a meal around the dinner table with your family can do wonders for your well-being.
69. Be A Better Listener
Listening is an essential part of good conversation.
Those who dominate conversations, never letting others open their mouths, lose out on the many benefits of being an active listener.
Effective listening can help you solve problems, see new opportunities, and develop patience and tolerance, from strengthening connections to getting new points of view and new insights.
70. Give A Compliment
Sharing compliments benefits everyone. They build relationships, improve communication, motivate people, and boost self-esteem and self-confidence.
Giving compliments helps you notice and appreciate those around you.
Getting into the habit of giving compliments helps you focus on more positive things, treating you to an overall optimistic outlook on life.
71. Have Compassion For Yourself
Research shows that compassion, self-kindness, and gratitude are predictors of your well-being and, when practiced, can increase your happiness and decrease depression.
Self-compassion is:
- Associated with positive aging
- Linked to reducing burnout
- Enables kind and loving behaviors
- A warrior against stress
72. Have Compassion For Others
Burnout is rarely an isolated phenomenon; it can be contagious.8 It’s likely people experiencing burnout will also be surrounded by others who are as well.
Burnout being contagious means others around you are possibly dealing with burnout, too; have compassion for them.
How to show compassion:
- Show an act of kindness to a stranger
- Accept others for who they are
- Offer up a helping hand
- Become a thoughtful listener
Boundaries create the invisible lines we need to feel appreciated, respected, and secure.
Neglecting to create or allowing others to overstep your boundaries causes your body harmful stress that can quickly lead to burnout.
Some of the most important reasons why you need boundaries are:
- You can be your most authentic self
- It’s treating yourself to self-care
- They set realistic expectations with clear directions
- Limits protect you emotionally and physically
Click here for an ultimate guide about healthy boundaries in relationships and how to implement them.
74. Choose Your Battles Wisely
Save your time and energy for the things that matter instead of fighting every problem.
Being strategic with your time allows you to focus more on what matters most, such as goals, family, and friendships.
Not everything is important and worth your limited time and energy. Evaluate the problem, then decide if it’s worth fighting.
75. Drop The Gossip
People who gossip often struggle with low self-esteem, find it hard to create their own identity and experience high anxiety levels.
People see gossipers as untrustworthy and harmful.
Gossiping wastes time and energy, is guilt-inducing, causes a deluded sense of self-importance, and can make you sick.
How to stop gossiping:
- Learn to differentiate between harmless and hurtful gossip
- Get to the root of the problem behind the gossip
- Find a solution to the root problem
- Limit yourself to the number of stories you’ll entertain
- Change the subject to something positive
76. Deal With An Emotionally Draining Friendship
Emotionally draining friends suck up all your energy, leaving you feeling exhausted and frustrated after seeing or talking with them.
Emotionally draining friends suck up all your energy, leaving you feeling exhausted and frustrated after seeing or talking with them.
Signs of an emotionally draining friend are they lack self-awareness, use guilt and manipulation over you, vent non-stop, are always in a crisis, can’t move on or let things go, have low-self esteem, and need constant reassurance.
While empathy and compassion are incredible gifts, no friendship is worth compromising your health and well-being.
Protect yourself emotionally; be supportive and empower your friend, but know your limits and establish boundaries.
Some quick, effective ways to deal with an emotionally draining friend are to limit the time you spend with them, communicate your established boundaries, stop being their therapist, or discontinue the relationship.
77. Learn To Forgive
Forgiveness of yourself and others helps minimize unnecessary or wasteful uses of your mental and emotional resources. It’s linked to lower depression, stress, anxiety, and burnout.
The numerous health benefits of forgiveness include better immune health, fewer feelings of anger and hurt, and less anxiety, stress, and hostility.
Forgiveness is a choice, a skill anyone can learn.
Some valuable ways to embrace forgiveness are:
- Address your inner pain
- Develop a forgiving mind through empathy
- Find meaning in your suffering
- Accept flaws and imperfections
- Change your mindset
- Develop a forgiving heart
In “The Book of Forgiving” by Desmond and Mpho Tutu, they share this: “Until we forgive, we remain locked in our pain and out of the possibility of experiencing healing and freedom, locked out of the possibility of being at peace.”
CATEGORY 7:
Self-Relaxation Strategies
78. Eat A Well-Balanced Diet
Poor nutrition can increase anxiety and fatigue, cripple decision-making skills, and slow reaction time.
A healthy, well-balanced diet gives you exceptional brain and emotional health, helps you think, improves your concentration, and heightens your attention span.
Make a healthy shopping list and stick to it; less processed foods and more nutrient-rich foods like fruits and vegetables.
79. Drink Plenty Of Water
Dehydration causes our memory, energy, and mental health to suffer. Even mild dehydration leads to a dip in mood and focus.
The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is:
- About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day for men
- About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women
80. Commit To Exercising More
A healthy exercise routine is vital for overall health and wellness.
The benefits of exercise on mental health are:
- Improved thinking in kids 6 to 13
- Reduced feelings of anxiety for adults
- It keeps your thinking, learning, and judgment skills strong
- Reduce risk for depression and anxiety
- It helps you sleep better
- Helps weight management
- Reduce the risk of disease
- Strengthen bones and muscles
81. Breathe Correctly
Not all of us breathe well, taking the process for granted.
On average, your lungs are the size of two footballs; most healthy people only use a third of that capacity.9
Simultaneously relaxing and rejuvenating, proper breathing can improve blood pressure, help you control when you’re overwhelmed, promote restful sleep, reduce stress and anxiety, eliminate back and neck pain, improve cognitive function, and help with chronic conditions.10
In a landmark 30-year study, researchers drew a direct correlation between lung function and longevity, concluding that the better you breathe, the longer you live.11
Try this proper breathing technique, the “relaxing breath”:
- First, exhale completely through your mouth
- Then inhale through your nose to a mental count of four
- Hold your breath for a count of seven
- Then exhale completely through your mouth to a count of eight
Try four cycles to get the kinks out in a pinch.
82. Visualize Peaceful Scenarios or Images
Guided imagery is a relaxation technique used to reduce stress and improve a person’s state of well-being.
People intentionally visualize peaceful scenarios or images, leading the individual’s body, mind, and emotions to a state of peace.
Imagery can also affect many physiological processes, including body temperature, blood flow, heart rate, breathing, and hormone production.12
Some benefits of guided imagery are:
- It can help distract you from pain
- It helps relieve chronic stress
- Reduces moderate levels of anxiety
- Decreases depression symptoms
- Improves quality of sleep
It starts with taking a few deep breaths to relax and then follows with the technique of choice.
83. Have Proper Posture
It turns out that your parents always yelling at you to “sit up straight” was excellent health advice.
Lousy posture leads to breathing problems, back pain, headaches, and a bad mood.
Improving your posture helps build confidence, keeps you focused and energized during work, enhances self-esteem, boosts productivity, and reduces your risk of injury.
The basics are relatively simple:
Think of lifting the rib cage off the hips, widening the collarbone, reaching the crown of the head toward the ceiling, and gently squeezing the shoulder blades together down the back.13
84. Improve Your Quality Of Sleep
Without quality sleep, many cognitive consequences include memory loss, learning problems, lack of focus, creativity, and poor decision-making.
Experts recommend healthy adults get an average of 7 to 9 hours per night of restful sleep.
The national sleep foundation states that less than six hours sleep each night strongly predicts burnout.
85. Practice Meditation
Regular meditation helps you access the part of yourself that is free from anxiety, worry, and the pressure of deadlines.14
Practicing meditation allows you to center your mind, focus your being, and sink into stillness. It will enable you to relieve stress and build confidence simultaneously.
Regular meditation practice helps you:
- Be at ease with the constant gyrations of your mind
- Develop a habit of staying grounded, free from all the drama
- Keep your brain and the nervous system charged
- Replenish your vital energy reserves
- Get more clear on what you want
- Creates space for fresh information to emerge
- Expand your awareness beyond the crisis of the moment
There are legit mental and physical benefits to establishing a daily stretching routine.
For many people, stretching feels good and helps them relax.
It’s an excellent opportunity to slow down, breathe, and give yourself a mental boost.
Stretching helps increase your flexibility, allowing you to perform small but essential day-to-day movements more efficiently and effectively.
87. Get A Professional Massage
Getting a professional massage is an effective method of combating the symptoms of burnout, such as stress, anxiety, and depression.
It helps decrease anxiety, stress, irritability, and alertness.
88. Ease Stress With Self-Massage
Much research proves the positive impact of self-massage therapy.
In as little as 10 to 15 minutes, self-massage can help lower stress and anxiety, reduce worry, and minimize body pains.
Use self-massage to ease body tension, headaches, and muscle pain from all life’s demands.
Self-massage is perfect for promoting overall mental health and well-being.
Plus, you can do it anytime, anywhere, for free!
CATEGORY 8:
Self-Confidence Strategies
89. Aquire Mental Toughness
A lack of mental toughness lets negative thoughts control your mind and cause depression, anxiety, chronic worry, and low self-worth.
With mental toughness, resilience and confidence, you’re always confidently in control, especially when challenges arrive.
90. Practice Positive Self-Talk
Negative self-talk is unrealistic and harmful.
Practicing positive self-talk enhances your overall well-being and is vital for goal attainment.
Start shifting your self-talk from negative to positive if you want to reap meaningful rewards.
91. Be More Open-Minded
Being open-minded opens you up to new opportunities and possibilities, such as a career change, higher education, or relocation to improve your earning ability or lifestyle.
Thinking critically and rationally is necessary, equipping you with a greater willingness to accept change.
Open-mindedness can help prevent unrealistic expectations from yourself and other people.
Open-minded people don’t mind having their ideas challenged, aren’t angry when they’re wrong, and are humble about their knowledge and expertise.
As a result, their personal and professional relationships are happier and more fulfilling.
Asking questions and practicing humility are two ways to start cultivating open-mindedness.
92. Embrace Change
Stressing about change wastes valuable mental and emotional energy, constricts risk-taking, hinders creative problem-solving, and increases the possibility of burnout.
Embracing change in life can sharpen focus and purpose, enhance resiliency, provide learning opportunities, and build confidence.
Know that change will occur, good or bad, expected or unexpected.
Create a life that’s adaptive to new places and unexpected events.
93. Be More Grateful
Changing your life for the better, an attitude of gratitude gives you greater life satisfaction and higher self-esteem.
Enhancing your gratitude practice can help you accept adverse situations from a healthier perspective.
Gratitude is a choice.
Start a gratitude journal or take a gratitude walk, connecting to gathering positive energy and more excellent problem-solving.
94. Practice Self-Control
Having trouble with self-control is part of the human condition.15
Due to immediate gratification, our present selves always lead us to do things we regret in the long run.
Self-control is a core component of emotional intelligence and maturity and correlates strongly with future success.
People who practiced self-control also showed superior tolerance for frustration and stress.
It’s never too late to master the art of patience.
Tips for learning self-control:
- Take an honest inventory of yourself
- Find a healthier distraction
- Focus on belly breathing
- Recognize your impulsive thoughts
- Set realistic goals
95. Complete Something You Started But Never Finished
Another way to combat burnout in your life is to take something you have not completed but started and finish it.
Why is this helpful? Because you get a feeling of accomplishment when you complete something.
It can be even the most minor thing you have been putting off or a big goal; completing it can bring you a feeling of achievement.
96. Stop Being Hard On Yourself
How to stop being hard on yourself
- Don’t attack yourself over minor mistakes
- Stop making it your fault when someone wrongs you
- Stop always doing more than is required
- See your mistakes as understandable
Using external cues to measure your self-worth puts you on the self-defeating merry-go-round of never being good enough, successful enough, or pretty.
Avoiding comparing yourself to others is a fantastic way to help prevent or reverse burnout. Focus on comparing yourself to yourself.
Three ways to stop comparing yourself to others are to focus on your path, enjoy other people’s success, and concentrate on gratitude.
98. Ditch The Word "Should"
Delete the word “should” from your vocabulary. It actively gets in the way of your goals.
It sets unrealistic expectations, induces guilt, creates feelings of inadequacy, and perpetuates a negative self-talk cycle.
Instead of thinking, “I should practice or study,” try, “I choose to, because learning this matters to me.”16
Replace the word ‘should’ with ‘could’ or ‘I want to.’
99. Stop Doubting Yourself
A degree of self-doubt is standard, but it leads to many consequences when you don’t balance that with an honest perspective of your skills and value.
When self-doubt becomes debilitating, for some, it’s impossible to complete even the simplest daily tasks.
Self-doubters don’t want to be seen as incompetent or incapable, so they work endlessly, eventually burning out.
Strategies on how to stop doubting yourself:
- Acknowledge that you are experiencing self-doubt17
- Become aware of what triggers your self-doubt
- Seek advice and coaching from others
- Write down and keep close your core values18
- Action conquers fear in even the smallest step19
- Find a motivator and immerse yourself in it
- Build confidence and leadership skills through volunteering
- Stop listening to the negative voice inside
- Believe you are capable of success
100. Learn How To Accept A Compliment
Not feeling worthy of getting compliments leads to a vicious cycle of escalating self-degeneration and even more social anxiety.
Accepting compliments is an essential social skill; it also helps you feel valued and appreciated.
Scientists revealed that getting a compliment and getting paid a monetary reward activates the same part of your brain.
Receiving compliments and praise is also beneficial for learning new motor skills and behaviors.
CATEGORY 9:
Self-Commitment Strategies
101. Be A Life Long Learner
According to much new evidence, lifelong learning protects the brain from decline.20
Keep your mind fresh and excited by learning something new, whether it’s singing, sailing, doing the tango, or tiling the bathroom.
Another payoff to developing a new skill is boosting your overall well-being and self-esteem.
Knowing what excites you and what you enjoy doing helps you overcome obstacles.
102. Maintain A Healthy Perspective
The absence of a healthy perspective opens the door to you judging yourself quickly and harshly.
Maintaining a healthy perspective gives you more significant insights and more profound happiness.
It lets you see things in context, gauge situations more accurately, and make distinctions quickly.
Daily gratitude, a strong, well-connected inner circle, and daily reflection can help you maintain a healthy perspective on life.
103. Be More Assertive
Whether in your personal life or at work, it’s essential to be assertive, stand up for yourself, and speak out– while still being considerate and thoughtful of others’ feelings.
Assertiveness helps you become a better communicator, gives you confidence, helps you make decisions, increases the respect others have for you, and empowers you to stay true to your own goals and beliefs.
Ways to help you practice being assertive are to know your outcome and become in control of your emotions before starting any conversation.
104. Make Responsibilities Fun
Mentally take control of the mindless “must-do” chores and tasks to start finding joy and fun in doing them.
When you’re doing a chore, such as washing dishes, concentrate on doing the task rather than on finishing it.
Most tasks become enjoyable through this practice of mindfulness.21
105. Improve Your Financial Security
You can curb financial worries and stay ahead of expenses with little effort.
How to deal with financial stress:
- Consult with financial professionals
- Prioritize what you can control
- Find ways to make more money
- Stick to a consistent savings plan
106. Stop Being A Workaholic
Are you compelled to work because of self-imposed internal pressures?
Working beyond what’s expected results in many negative consequences, ultimately leading to work-family life conflict and burnout.22
- 23% of work-family life conflict was related to workaholism
- 32% of burnout was related to workaholism
- 19% of burnout was related to work-family life conflict
Establish a healthy work-life balance. Take a break, vacation, or at least minimize your workload.
107. Promote A Healthy Work Life Balance
Burnout symptoms can surely arise when the lines between family and work pressures are blurred.
The conflict between work and non-work roles appears when the roles are unbalanced at work and in life.23
Promoting balance between work and family requires you to limit non-essential activities, create healthy boundaries, prioritize family time, and ask for help.
Without effective delegation, overall work will suffer, and the individual will ultimately burn out, causing serious consequences for overall health.24
The key to delegation is don’t delegate the things you do best!
Delegate the tasks most likely to reduce/prevent stress levels and eat up your time; the ones others do in a snap!
Payoffs for proper delegation.25
- Extending more time and energy to important responsibilities
- Feeling less pressure
- Benefiting from the thoughts, wisdom, and experience of others
- Increased efficiency and quality of work
- Less overall stress
How to delegate tasks effectively
- Trust the abilities of others
- Define each task well
- Assign jobs according to the individual’s strengths
- Encourage effective communication
- Be available for help and guidance
109. Find Your Reliable Experts
Having go-to “people,” reliable experts you trust to help you out, keeps you relaxed and calm, and saves you massive amounts of energy and time.
Creating solid professional relationships based on trust and communication with your local vendors (financial advisor, a lawn care professional, the local baker, a trusted mechanic) helps you save time, energy, and money.
110. Don't Work Through Lunch
One small thing you can start doing right now to beat burnout is taking proper lunch breaks.
Stop eating lunch at your desk, and stop talking to people on your phone when you’re eating lunch out of the office.
Turn off your phone, enjoy this time, be mindful of your meal, and relax. Work will be there waiting for you when your break is over.
111. Take A Power Nap
One out of every three people in the U.S. claims to nap during the day.
Taking a power nap is perfect for preventing stress, frustration, and burnout. It’s like a system reboot that provides greater emotional resilience and improved cognitive function.
A six-minute nap with an alarm can refresh your mind and improve information retention, making you feel sharp and alert.
Research has found that relaxing and engaging breaks can improve emotions and boost energy at work.26
34% of employers (including Google, Zappos, and Uber) don’t mind if employees nap at the office during the day.
112. Take A Mini Break
Are you running low on mental fuel? Take a mini-break!
Working without true breaks tends to reduce productivity.27
On the other hand, taking breaks can stimulate new ideas, increase productivity, and reduce stress.28
Experts recommend taking regular breaks for fresh air and exercise. They also push for people to avoid taking those breaks in man-made spaces.29
Taking breaks is a strategy that works well by scheduling them wisely and then holding yourself accountable.
Find out what works best for you, then be intentional. Take care of your mind and body during your work day.
113. Make Progress On Your Tasks
A feeling of being overwhelmed comes from cluttering your mind with vague promises about what you should and could do without making progress.
The way to get unstuck is by making progress on your tasks.
Making progress helps you to relax and alleviate stress because you can see and feel yourself moving closer to your destination and goals.
Gaining progress also helps us stay focused on the result.
Allen’s 2 minutes rule:
Any time an action item will take less than 2 minutes to complete, do it immediately. “You need to get that item off your mind.”
114. Celebrate Your Achievements
Celebration is a significant opportunity to cement the lessons learned while on the path to achievement– especially when a team is involved.
It boosts confidence, increases motivation, and directly benefits your mental, emotional, and financial health.
Taking time to celebrate is also critical to business health, long-term employee morale, and company culture.
CATEGORY 10:
Self-Love Strategies
115. Give Yourself A Permission Slip
Burnout is right around the corner if you constantly ask others for permission.
Stop looking to others for approval.
It’s time to give yourself a permission slip to live for the things you love, fulfill your purpose, and be the real you.
Start with more minor permissions, like taking a break when you’re tired or asking for help when needed. Then it becomes easier to allow yourself permission to be your true self.
Permit yourself to be you, let go of your need for approval, and learn to trust yourself.
116. Get Dressed
Your outfit can affect how you think and behave.
Psychologists suggest that by actually getting dressed, your mindset shifts and can improve the way you feel.
Your clothing can change a bad mood and help you overcome depressed feelings.
117. Schedule Regular Me-Time
Setting aside time “just for me” sends a positive message, through action, to our insides. Plus, checking in with yourself daily greatly impacts your overall well-being.30
People who engage in me-time activities report greater satisfaction with their lives,31 have more room to try out new things and give themselves a chance to find out what makes their souls come alive.
Some benefits of taking time for yourself are:
- It gives your brain a chance to unplug and unwind
- Experience deeper quality sleep
- Enjoy more control over your mood
- It increases your patience
- It helps you live your life more mindfully
- Reduced levels of stress and anxiety32
- Experience higher levels of positive emotion
- It provides a stronger sense of balance
- Higher confidence and self-esteem levels
- Lowers blood pressure and heart rate
118. Have More Fun
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."
Having fun allows us to:
- Build trust and develop communication with others
- Improve our memory and concentration
- Lower stress levels
- Boost creativity, energy levels, and productivity
- Stay youthful
119. Act Out Of Character
The path to personal growth is long and ever-changing.
Permit yourself to edit your story, to stray from the identity you formed from adolescence.
Embrace a mindset of growth that results in a positive transformation for you.
Suzanne Braun Levine observes that as you get to the middle of your life, “you’re not who you were, only older. Pieces of who you are begin shifting.” And so, she adds, “don’t dismiss anything because it’s not like you. Acting out of character is a good thing.”33
120. Spend Time In The Sun
While there are risks to sun exposure, soaking up some daily sunlight can do wonders for your mind, bones, and more.
Researchers identified more mental health distress in people during seasons with little sun exposure and better mental health on days with plenty of sunshine.
Spending time in the sunshine is linked to:
- Boosting happiness
- More restful sleep at night
- Stronger bones and teeth
- Lower blood pressure
“When we are walking, we are talking about our lives.”
The interaction and connection made with others during hiking and walking are twice as friendly.
Walking and talking with friends is a great way to get out of life’s frustrations and let go of a ‘little steam.’
It’s perfect for clearing your mind, praying together, or working out a healthy choice for a problem in life.
Hikers at the Medvednica Mountain Nature Park enjoy singing, eating, and drinking while walking in nature. However, the dominant part of this is simply being with someone and walking together in nature.
Lastly, the hikers often mentioned stress relief, relaxation, positive experience, and a sense of escape.
This mental benefit was also described as “filling up my batteries.”
122. Harness The Power Of Reading
Reading temporarily escapes life’s stressors, allowing your mind, body, and spirit time to rest and refill.
It’s a powerful tool that promotes healthier sleep, increases memory and focus, and improves overall cognitive processing.
Reading for fun also improves your language and math skills, too!
123. Listen To Music
Music is a fun way to mitigate and prevent burnout. It influences all aspects of health and well-being.
Music is like an instant reward, quickly releasing feel-good hormones that help improve your mood, evoke relaxation, and alter pain perception.34
Some tips to use music to improve your well-being are:
- Work with a music therapist
- Listen to relaxing music
- Create your own beat
- Write a song to express your feelings
- Create a mood playlist
124. Dance Away
It’s time to turn the music up and dance. Like other forms of exercise, dance offers plenty of benefits for your emotions, intelligence, and relationships.
The benefits of dancing are:
- It improves self-esteem
- It’s a great way to meet new people
- Improves your mood and attitude
- Dancing helps protect your memory
When done with another person, dance encourages emotional bonding, hitting two anti-burnout strategies at once.35
125. Chew Gum
Gum chewing is proven to have many cognitive benefits, including increased concentration.36
When asked to memorize words, pictures, and telephone numbers, researchers found that the gum chewers of the study remembered 35 percent more than volunteers not chewing gum.37
Chewing gum is also a great way to increase your heart rate and blood flow, sending more oxygen to the brain.
Some benefits of chewing gum are:
- Increases heart rate and blood flow to the brain
- Helps relieve stress
- Focused, more efficient work
- Enhanced alertness
- Increased concentration
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this comprehensive list about combating burnout.
Now I’d like to hear from you.
Did I leave out your favorite strategy?
Leave it in the comments, and I’ll add it.
References
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- Allyson Chiu. (6 C.E. 2022). Are you a people-pleaser? Here's how to tell - and how to stop. Washington Post, The.
- ROSS GITTINS. Ross Gittins is the Herald’s Economics Editor. (2005, March 26). Save your instant gratification for a rainy day. Sydney Morning Herald, The, 36
- Priesnitz, W. (2019). Journaling: Writing to Learn and Learning to Write. Natural Life, 26–28
- Fritson, K. K. (2008). Impact of Journaling on Students’ Self-Efficacy and Locus of Control. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 3, 75–83.
- MARCHE, S. (2012). Is Facebook Making Us Lonely? Atlantic, 309(4), 60–69
- Williams, C. (2021). Heading for burnout? New Scientist, 249(3320), 34–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0262-4079(21)00201-3
- Borysenko, J. (2005). Practicing Patience. Prevention, 57(4), 93–95.
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- ROSS GITTINS. Ross Gittins is the Herald’s Economics Editor. (2005, March 26). Save your instant gratification for a rainy day. Sydney Morning Herald, The, 36
- Ryan, M. J. (2005). The secret confidence builder...is learning something new! Good Housekeeping, 240(1), 136–139
- Hawkes, S. (2018). 3 Steps To Limit Self-Doubt: Leaders become more effective by admitting their limitations and sharing their insecurities. Leadership Excellence, 35(12), 8–9.
- Kinias, Z. (2016). A Simple Exercise Can Help Women Overcome Self-Doubt to Succeed. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 2–4.
- McNeely, J. (2017). Silencing Those Negative Voices: Take the steps outlined in this article to banish self-doubt and move your career forward. Advisor Today, 112(4), 51–52.
- Ryan, M. J. (2005). The secret confidence builder...is learning something new! Good Housekeeping, 240(1), 136–139
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