Burning out is a real issue for most people now, the cumulative impact of stress and busyness actually leads to the opposite as your body and mind force you to take a break resulting in a lack of will power, zero motivation, feeling lost, detached, unhappy and depressed. How do you avoid burnout and what really is a normal state of being?

 Very simply, the mind, body and soul should all be aligned. You should be grateful with what you have and have the energy and motivation to do what you want in life. Most people don’t recognize the symptoms of burnout before it’s too late.

But how can you avoid burnout?

1. Me Time

Taking time out is the best advice anyone can give you. Take a break from your daily routine, push yourself out of your comfort zone, take a retreat, step away from the busyness of life and reconnect with yourself. You should schedule me time into your diary as you would schedule any other social occasion.

2. Meditate

Meditation is one of the most powerful tools we can use to connect our minds and bodies, and guess what, it’s free! Simply take a few minutes a day to sit with yourself, close your eyes, connect with your breath and let all your thoughts go, acknowledging the ones that come to the surface but not dwelling on them. If you find meditation hard then try a guided one on an app like Calm or Headspace.

3. Be grateful

Most of us focus on the stuff we don’t have and are stressed about not being where we want to be in life. Not only do we have external stress such as work or family but we are stressing ourselves out too. Start waking up everyday being thankful for what you have in life already, start a gratitude journal as soon as you wake up and notice how it changes your mood throughout the days, weeks and months.

4. Time with nature

Nature has so many healing properties, think of the days at the beach listening to the ocean or at the mountains and how refreshed you feel afterwards. You disconnect from ‘real life’ and reconnect with yourself. If you can’t get back to nature even just a walk in your nearest park.

5. Technology Detox 

We live in a technology driven world and are always switched on, no wonder we are burning out quicker and faster than ever before. The mid-life crisis is now happening to those in their early 30s. The lifestyle of always being switched on to work and friends and replying instantly to everything seems like it’s here to stay so you need to control it by turning devices off daily and stepping away. No one can be available on all of the time.

6. Travel 

The whole keeping up with the Joneses mentality will also burn you out. Buying more things leads to more questions such as, how are you going to pay for it, and where are you going to put it, which also contributes to burnout. “Travel is the only thing we buy that makes you richer!” So buy experiences and not things, take time out and go on a retreat to really help you reset and spend time doing something you love.

The most important message in avoiding burnout is time-out for yourself, if you don’t take care of yourself first, then no one else will.

Originally published on LuxuryEscape.co.