I could feel it coming. I had seen the signs for weeks, but ignored them. I was getting moody, moving more slowly, eating poorly, not following my exercise regimen, and closing myself off from others. I found myself working late into the evenings because things just had to get done because there was no time during the day to accomplish everything. It always happens this time of year as the school year is coming to a close, but every year, I always think things are going to be different. I then get a reality check and I am put on notice that things are in fact, not different. I'm exhausted and running on empty.
We all hit the proverbial wall at some point. We either fail to recognize the signs or we simply ignore them because they are inconvenient at the time. We think that if we just power through, exert more effort and energy, and hope for the best we will be fine and everything we are experiencing will pass. The problem is that this is flawed thinking and we are headed down a really dangerous path. I'm reminded of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer test drives a vehicle and he and the car salesmen see how far they can go on an empty tank of gas. They gleefully take on the task of seeing how far they can go and pass up multiple opportunities to fuel up. Unfortunately for us, we are not in a 90's sitcom and our stories don't end conveniently with us screaming jubilantly as we continue to press on seeing how far we can go with no gas left in the tank.
There is a leadership principle that states that you need to fill up your own bucket so you have enough to serve those that you lead. Too often, however, that principle is not followed and people keep giving of themselves until there is no more left to give. This leads to burnout, fatigue, and countless other issues that are detrimental to our health and our organizations. So why do we let it continue to happen? The short answer is that we think it is the expectation, but in reality, it is something that we have learned over time and just accepted as the norm. It is not the norm and we need to stop it. Now is the time to step up to the plate and recognize the warning signs in our ourselves and others. We need to take a step back and realize that running on empty is not a badge of honor and is not a game to see how far we can push ourselves. We need to slow down and understand that there are people who need us to be at our best and the only way we can do this is if we practice a little self care and fuel up. There are a lot of miles that we still need to travel.
#Onward #FORGE #OwnYourEpic
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