Yesterday, I spent, some time with a friend, from many years ago. I had invited him to be the Chief Guest, of our Executive Management Program here at ABS. He had reluctantly agreed & I'm glad he did because we had a few good laughs.Purushottam is now the CEO of a IT firm here at Bangalore.
As youngsters, he preparing to crack the CAT exam & me the Merchant Navy & Defense exams, we would spend time playing cricket or stuffing ourselves at small joints serving Marwari or Punjabi food, where the food was great & easy on the pocket.Soon we parted ways, he heading for the IIM( B ) & I the Merchant Navy.We lost touch.
Post the program, while he declined to eat anything, he told me that as very senior guy at a major IT firm, he had quit his job one day, to do nothing, as he feared a burnout.After doing absolutely nothing for a while, he returned to head a small IT firm & takes life easy.
What is burnout?
"Burnout is the gradual process by which a person, in response to prolonged stress and physical, mental and emotional strain, detaches from work and other meaningful relationships. The result is lowered productivity, cynicism, confusion...a feeling of being drained, having nothing more to give."
Unfortunately the phenomenon is getting to be quite common these days & fortunate are the few who recognize the warning signs and course correct.Burnout is not for the wimps, but for those who have gone the distance and then decided to jump ship!
I'm reasonably certain that with the pace of change that we have today, burn out is going to be a word much bandied about and folks will have to reinvent themselves, if they are to remain competitive and lead meaningful lives.( What is meaningful is debatable?)
In today's hyper-competitive economy, we can easily fall prey to burnout that comes from information overload,perpetual busyness and constantly racing against the clock. In his book Crazy Busy, Edward Hallowell writes that being too busy can become a habit so entrenched that it makes us slaves to a lifestyle we don't like, but can't escape: "You can be so busy that you don't even take the time to decide what actually does matter the most to you, let alone make the time to do it." What's more, many of us "get lost in work" while watching our health, relationships, and outside interests suffer.
In this context it is fundamental to be 'selfish' and look at what is good for you and your little world.Next time you have that 'empty' feeling & little things do not make you laugh,or you are unable to respond to affection, probably it's time to get the compass out and check your course......................Every one of us has a compass, deep within ourselves, delve & get the damn thing out!
13 comments:
Good one. I agree with your thoughts. I like to add one thing here. Beyond burnout we get into slavery mode. What I mean here is that you know you have burned out but cannot escape as you have build up committments. Most people live beyond their means by hypothecating their future. When that future turns bad leading to burnout, there is a fear of not being able to meet the lifestyle committments. That is really losing one's freedom to act.
Shankar
Excellent excellent ! the bare truths !
so true sir.....
we might take challenges in our daily life as our passion, but at the end some day or the other we realize after all we are humans........
sir we do not have any other respite than take a break after working for two decade or so in corporate or any industry.. Personally i get bored with evry thing pretty soon... i have a question.. Do you think monogamy is thrusted on us and it was not meant to be like that??
AAK,
You got me there........a simple question, without a simple answer.
I may not be the right guy to speculate, as I've been strictly monogamous ( to date ).
However, I will reflect & try to say something sensible.
Watch this space & I will be back ASAP!
Getting off the blocks, I would like to say that, 'getting bored' has become an issue, these days.......why should it be? Getting bored is part of life & kids must be allowed to learn to deal with boredom
delving deep and getting that damn thing out is a herculean task in itself:) it may be tough to understand others but is toughest to understand yourself..those who did our enlightened..(they are rare..or rarest to be more precise) in this competitive world everyone wants fame, success and bla bla..so hardly anyone is listening to his heart's real desire...when you enjoy what you work you dont work actually..so you dont even feel bore also as you have so much to discover, explore and achieve..i know its not very practical but its worth a shot and far better than burnout:)
it would be good if we can get jack sparrow's compass(from pirates of Caribbean) which points in the direction where we can get what we desire!!
sir, no answer as yet
that's really true! it aptly explains to us the current situations where in we are turning out to be workaholics.not just burnout,but we are getting worn-out completely due to the amount of stress we are taking. at the end of the day even if we are a billionaire, may be our heart was desiring something more special but we hardly listen to it and fail to enjoy few small, yet beautiful things in life.no matter what,we must give our best shot to whichever field we choose but not to an extent that your work-life balance is completely shattered. after all we just got 1 precious life so just live it up and make the most of it!!!!!! :)
hi Sir....i know m here after such a long time that you sent me the link.. And, believe me.... i am as amazed at your wise words as ever...
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