Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Practical Ways to Avoid Burnout

and Put Fun Back Into Your Life
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– By Michael L. Stahl

Amazingly, the National Institute of Mental Health in the United States reports that more than 20 million Americans suffer from chronic nervousness, panic attacks and phobias. With the fast pace of modern day society, people seem to have less time and more frustrations - even with all the technology that is supposed to make our lives easier!

H.ere are four practical ways you can use in your everyday life to avoid and overcome burnout:

1. Start your day with the powerful positive input of high-energy music. Everyone enjoys different kinds of music so you need to use what YOU like. Just be sure you start the day listening to the kind of high-energy music that gets you PUMPED! It could be rock and roll or country or jazz or pop or whatever makes you feel GREAT about yourself. It is important to start the day off with positive energy and enthusiasm in order to effectively tackle the challenges that you might encounter. If you put yourself in a good mood before you have to deal with problems you could be facing, it makes the frustration much easier to handle.

It is not always easy to "hit the ground running,” especially at the start of the day, but you will feel better about yourself both personally and professionally. Research has shown that people who use high energy music to start their day and before they face challenging situations have increased productivity by as much as 200%!

2. Do not allow mistakes to ruin you. Do everything you possibly can to fix a problem with a client or associate in order to make them happy. After that, do not dwell on what went wrong, otherwise this can lead to decreased productivity and burnout. If you cannot get over something that went wrong in your life, remember this quote, "Do not blame yourself for past errors. You are no longer the same person who made them and you cannot blame a person who does not exist."

3. Get an "accountability partner" to help you stay focused. You can share with this person your needs, fears and victories. An accountability partner is someone you can trust and feel comfortable enough with to just "be yourself.” You should meet with this person at least once a week to talk about your goals, progress, set-backs and thoughts on your personal and professional life. Your accountability partner keeps you on track and moving forward in all aspects of your development. The friendship and discussion you share with this person will help you to look at things objectively, understand yourself better and be more well-rounded.

NOTE: An accountability partner should be a person other than your spouse or significant other.

4. See the funny side of life - allow yourself to laugh and enjoy life without being serious all the time. Laughter helps ease stress and bring mountains back down to mole hills where they belong. Learn to see humor in difficult situations. A good, hearty laugh is the best stress releaser of all. Give yourself and the people you work with a "laugh-a-day.” Put a "humor board" in your office. Have a designated bulletin board where anyone can post cartoons, jokes or even funny pictures. This gives everyone a chance to ease anxieties.

You can also use what can be called "comic memos." This is where you attach a funny cartoon to the routine, sometimes boring memos or pieces of paperwork that have to be given out. Another idea for easing tension is to choose various people in the office to take turns telling a "joke of the day." The more you laugh, the less you worry and the healthier you feel.

About the Author:

Michael L. Stahl is a professional speaker who has been featured in Entrepreneurial Edge Magazine and appeared on CNN Financial News. He delivers speeches and seminars that help organizations and individuals to 'Focus Your Power' for maximum productivity and well-balanced success. Get F’REE articles and subscribe to his F’REE motivational newsletter at http://www.michaelstahl.com

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