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Something Most People Completely Misunderstand About Burnout

It Is More Complex Than They Realize

By Cody Dakota Wooten, C.B.C.Published 15 days ago 6 min read

Help Change The World With Your Vote! Read to the End to see How this Impacts The Planet!

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It is, without question, the Largest Problem in Business Today.

Burnout.

It is Impacting 80% of Employees currently, and there are more quickly on their way.

It Directly Prevents Flow States, Innovation, and Creative Problem Solving, and is Directly Involved in Decreasing EQ, Productivity, and Leadership Potential.

If you think that sounds "Extreme", the Reality is that I only gave a "Tiny" list of what Burnout actually does.

Now, Why is Burnout such an Issue?

There are many Programs that "Claim" to bring people out of Burnout, yet overall they have Failed as Burnout continuously gets Worse, including in Organizations that "Have" Burnout "Prevention" Programs.

But Why is that?

What are all of these Programs Missing?

Well, to Understand this, let's first look at what exactly "is" Burnout?

According to WebMD, Burnout is a form of exhaustion caused by constantly feeling swamped. It happens when we experience too much emotional, physical, and mental fatigue for too long.

Now, that is the "Quick" answer but doesn't fully explain what is happening.

For a more Complete Understanding, you have to look at Human Energy Dynamics, aka Mg-ATP Production and Use.

In order to Survive, our Bodies Need Energy.

The Technical Term for the Energy that is created by our Cells, and more specifically our Mitochondria, is called Mg-ATP.

This is what Your Body uses to Do "Everything".

Whether it is Work, Fitness, Hobbies, or Spending Time with Family, it is "All" being Accomplished by the Creation and Use of Mg-ATP.

If you were not Creating or Using Mg-ATP, You would Die.

So what does this have to do with Burnout?

Well, our Bodies are Fascinating when it comes to Human Energy Dynamics.

In an Ideal World, our Bodies would Create Enough Mg-ATP to do Everything we wanted, and maybe it would have just a "Little" Extra in case of Emergencies.

We would have enough Energy to get into Flow States and Maximize our Results with our Current Mg-ATP, then we would go into Recovery to Refill our Mg-ATP Storage so we could do it again!

The Problem?

We Do Not Live in an Ideal World.

For most people, instead of getting into a Flow State, they Struggle Too Much and Too Fast.

The term here is that they go into Dis-Stress (or Bad Stress).

Essentially, this means that we are Burning through More Energy than we can Efficiently Produce.

Now, if we only did that Occasionally, and we Recovered Properly, that wouldn't be a Problem.

However, most people go Immediately into Dis-Stress and then Fail to Recover Enough.

This puts the Body in a Constant "Energy Deficit".

In Response, the Body will "Temporarily" Shut Down "Non-Emergency" Systems to Attempt to Compensate and Lower Total Energy Usage.

These Systems are Deemed "Non-Emergency" in the Short Term, but still have Incredibly Important Roles.

This would not necessarily be a Problem, except again, people are Failing to Recover.

This leads to a Cycle of going into Dis-Stress, Failing to Recover, Bodily Functions Shutting Down, and more Dis-Stress.

Eventually, as these Processes Remain Off, More Damage occurs in our Bodies, creating Higher Dis-Stresses.

To simply Survive, the Body begins to, quite literally, Tear Itself Apart to attempt to meet Energy Demands.

As this continues, we hit what we call Burnout.

Burnout is when Our Bodies have been in Dis-Stress for So Long, that they begin to Destroy Themselves.

So, if this is what Burnout "is", then what is it that People Completely Misunderstand?

Most people Do Not Understand what Constitutes a "Stressor" in the Context of Burnout.

Generally, people Immediately go, "Oh! Work is the Stressor that is Causing My Burnout!"

You are both Correct and Incorrect at the same time.

See, most people's Work "Is" a Stressor, and quite Honestly Work "Should" be a Stressor to a Degree (though many Organizations take it Way Too Far!).

However, it is Never "Just" Work Stress that Causes Burnout.

This is what People usually Miss.

"All" Stressors Add Together, and when this happens Long Enough, it becomes Burnout.

There is No "Single" Stressor that Causes Burnout, rather it is the Culmination of "All" of Your Stressors Combined.

This has led to many Programs that target a "Single" Stressor, only to Completely Miss "All" of the other Contributing Stressors.

As this Plays Out, usually, people gain Temporary Relief from one Stressor, only for their Combined Stressors to still be Too High and in Ongoing Dis-Stress.

In those Scenarios, Burnout is Only Delayed rather than being "Fixed".

So, what Stressors must we be aware of to "Fix" Burnout?

Well, "All" of them.

Work Stressors, Relationship Stressors, Sleep Stressors, Physiological Stressors, Mental Stressors, Emotional Stressors, Environmental Stressors, Nutritional Stressors, Financial Stressors, and even Existential Stressors to name a few.

This also doesn't include Stressors Created from Stress Damage that is left behind "After" we Endure Stressors, also known as Oxidative Stress.

A Major Necessity that most Programs Fail to have "Any" Knowledge of is the Importance of Ceruloplasmin as the Body's Master Antioxidizer, aka what "Cleans Up" all the Stress Damage most Energy Efficiently and Quickly.

If you do not "Clean Up" the Stress Damage, you will simply "Add" More Stress Damage over time to your Body, until it becomes a Landfill of Stress Damage.

Even if you "Fix" all of your other Stressors, but Failed to Efficiently and Effectively "Clean" the Damage, you would still eventually hit Burnout.

This is what everyone Consistently Misses with Burnout.

You can't have a "Single" Approach to fixing Burnout because Everyone's Stressors in Life are Different!

This is Why I Always Advocate for a Cultivation Approach instead of a Development Approach.

In Development, people try to provide a "One-Size-Fits-All" Solution that does not work for 80%+ of those involved.

In Cultivation, you provide a Solution Tailored to the Individual and that Matches their Needs at the Exact Time they Need It.

You could think of it like Designing Suits.

A Developmental Approach would be like a Suit that has been Designed to fit Everyone from 3' to 10' Tall and any Weight between 50 lbs. and 500 lbs. that Cannot be Tailored.

A Cultivation Approach would be a Custom Suit purposefully Designed for that Individual for a Specific Event they are attending, perfectly Tailored.

Which Suit do you think will look better?

In the same way that the Custom Suit will Always look Better, so is a Cultivation Approach Always going to Be Better, especially when it comes to the Problem of Burnout.

This is the Dilemma that All Leaders face today - their Single Biggest Problem is Burnout.

If they Fail to Solve Burnout, they will Always be at a Major Disadvantage which will eventually Blow Up in their Face.

However, if they take the time to actually "Solve" Burnout, they will likely have No Competition because of how Bad Burnout has extended in Nearly All Organizations.

By Solving Burnout, you Open the Possibility for Group Flow to occur Consistently in your Organization, which is the Only Possible Way to have Continued Long-Term Success.

The first Leaders to Accomplish this will be the ones who Dominate the Future.

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Want to Change The World?

I am on a mission to show that when "We" work together, We "Can" Change The World!

There is currently a competition for Mr. Health and Fitness 2024 with a prize of $20,000.

Which is How "You" Help Change The World!

I have plans to use 100% of the Prize to support 3rd Party Verified Projects around the World that address the Most Critical Ecosystem Aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

At a minimum, my Goal is to accomplish:

  • 10,000 m2 of Habitats Protected for Critically Endangered Species
  • 56,000 Plastic Bottles Removed from Our Oceans
  • 500,000 m2 of Coral Reef Restoration
  • 1,000,000 Miles of Car Emissions Removed

However, I can "only" do this with "Your" Help!

Together, we can accomplish Incredible things in the World, and I want to show Everyone the Power of that!

I humbly ask you to join me, and Vote to Make the World Better!

This is what you can do:

If you are even considering helping, I truly appreciate you, and I know you have so much Potential to Change the World!

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About the Creator

Cody Dakota Wooten, C.B.C.

Creator of the Multi-Award-Winning Category "Legendary Leadership" | Faith, Family, Freedom, Future | The Legendary Leadership Coach, Digital Writer (500+ Articles), & Speaker

https://www.TheLeadership.Guide

[email protected]

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Comments (4)

  • L.C. Schäfer8 days ago

    Sometimes even the work to repair/catch up to where you should be feels like stress. Let's say you are overweight. Being overweight is stressor, but maintaining healthy eating and living choices may also be a stressor, depending on things like finances and long-held food hang ups. Clutter is likely a stressor, even for people who say they don't mind it, be it the work of decluttering is also a stressor. I think some people just feel stuck. There is always another thing not done, another thing that must be done before the other thing. Even thinking about these things can be stressful.

  • Lana V Lynx14 days ago

    Excellent breakdown of both the concept and “remedies” for stress, Cody! How many organizational leaders go through your training? Is this catching on?

  • Oh yes, oxidative stress. That definitely needs to be taken into account

  • I think I have burnout. Well written! 🤓

Cody Dakota Wooten, C.B.C.Written by Cody Dakota Wooten, C.B.C.

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