Gratitude…and Burnout

I hope you had the opportunity to share a meal and good time with people you care about over the Thanksgiving weekend! Whew, I don’t know about you but I definitely needed that small break. We ate. A lot. We laughed. A lot. I hope you did too!

My message this week will be short because two seemingly contradictory themes are on my mind: gratitude and burnout. Weird combination, right? But at this time of the year, when I hear folks rushing to get things done before the holidays, both are top of mind.

First, gratitude. I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve this region and the people who live and work here. All year long I watch our team working to amplify your voice, to create experiences for you, to help you grow your business. And each year, about this time, I look back on the work we’ve done together and feel that gratitude. And I also see you, investing your own time, talents, and resources into your own community-building work. It’s impressive.

Second, what I also see, sometimes in our own team, is burnout. What does burnout look like? It can be as simple as a diminishing of enthusiasm for the work at hand. Or it can show up as numbness or apathy. What does it look like in your team members? In you? Because, you see, each year about this time, I also start to see this burnout. The danger? First we lose our gratitude. We stop trying new things. Or we skim along the surface without fully engaging. 

I guess I just wanted to encourage you today to stop, sit in gratitude for a moment, check yourself for signs of burnout, and maybe – just maybe – take a break.

See you in the trenches,