are we confusing burnout with just pure exhaustion?
I was talking to a friend the other day about this. That “burnout” has become a buzzword just like the other ones we’ve seen, “authenticity”, “intentional”, “heart-led”, or whatever else you can think of.
We were being curious about how if the word “burnout” has either lost it’s meaning or might have a misinterpretation in the online space. Especially, when it comes to entrepreneurs sharing their experiences of running a business.
With a lot of “burn it down” stories online, it seems that “burnout” is a major cause.
What if it’s not burnout? What if they’re misdiagnosing exhaustion as burnout and they choose to burn it all down because that’s what seems to be like their only option?
Being burnt out is when you’re in a state of chronic physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged or unmanaged stress.
Recently, I learned about The Maslach Burnout Model. It’s interesting because it typically is in the occupational context, not general life operations.
The three dimensions of burnout are explains as:
Emotional Exhaustion: The Energy Dimension
The feeling of being drained, tired, or have no energy to give — even if you have a full nights rest.
Depersonalization: The Detachment Dimension
Detaching yourself from things, situations, or people who once were important to you. It’s described as a protective mechanism.
Reduced Personal Accomplishment: The Efficacy Dimension
A decline of competence and effectiveness with certain tasks that come easy to you, but now feel nearly impossible to complete.
When you experience burnout, you feel extremely drained even after you rest. You experience a sudden lack of motivation. Maybe you feel a bit cynical or detached. And you can even find yourself overwhelmed with the simple, everyday tasks you need to do.
Being exhausted or tired is a short-term experience. You can feel physical or mental fatigue that typically will improve with sleep and some time-off.
Though they are similar, burnout is a deeper or long-term experience. It can build up slowly for years and years. It can really change you as a person too, emotionally. Unfortunately, it rarely goes away with just resting alone.
Anyone who is exhausted can have some irritability, but your emotional core remains the same.
In entrepreneurship, being “tired’ or “exhausted” is typically ignored. People go long periods of time without taking breaks, without taking one day off, and it makes me think about how no wonder people feel burnt out. They are constantly ignoring the warning signs. And so when you feel like there’s nothing else you can do but to burn it all down and take a break from your business, it’s not about you trying to reinvent yourself. It’s more about self-preservation.
The exhaustion, overwhelm, stress, or anxiety has compounded over time, so much so, that you cannot function to the best of your abilities to run your business anymore. I find it heartbreaking because I believe that so many talented and incredible people have what it takes to build a business, make an incredible impact, but they’ve put aside these basic human functions too long. We’re constantly fed this toxic hustle mindset and people feel guilty for stepping away for a little while. Or taking a break or vacation. But what if that actually is the solution to your overwhelm?
If you put gas in a car and take a long road trip across the country, you eventually will need to stop for more gas. If you skip every gas station and keep driving the car, you’ll eventually not have gas in the tank anymore. You won’t get anywhere.
If you consistently see this pattern keep coming up for you, it’s time to really change those patterns.
Why calling it burnout vs exhaustion actually matters
If you’re dealing with exhaustion, taking a break like resting or taking a day off, will actually help fix it. But if you’re truly burnt out, rest alone won’t help. It becomes a pattern where you come back to the same business, the same circumstances, and the cycle can repeat itself.
Some research on the model suggest that true burnout across all three dimensions is less common than it’s typically implied. It’s more of a “catch all” for stress.
I remember times where I thought I was burnt out, but looking back, I was just exhausted or felt depleted in my business. It’s easy to get it confused.
When you are able to identify the root problem to how you’re feeling, experiencing life, or how you’re operating your business, you can take decisive action to work on healing it.
Instead of focusing on something that doesn’t need to be fixed, you can work on what actually does.
Once we’re able to become aware of the differences between burnout and exhaustion or stress, I believe more people, especially entrepreneurs, will be able to continue working towards their dreams, making positive impact, and building self-sustaining businesses.
Thanks for reading Soft Pivot®!
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