Renaissance: A revival of or renewed interest. Rebirth.
Just over a year ago I submitted my resignation. The job at the company I’d been with my entire career that had once felt like home. Colleagues felt like family. I loved that job. But it started to feel forced. Every day I felt less authentic. I focused on tasks that distracted me from why I loved the work. So without any real plan I gave notice.
Then “Renaissance” came out. Beyoncé sang, “I just quit my job” Suddenly on social media everyone talked about quitting their job. “I’m looking for motivation, I’m looking for a new foundation…you won’t break my soul”. My experience wasn’t unique. But why is it okay to work ourselves so hard when we aren’t getting anything back but a paycheck? Trying to force ourselves into feeling a certain way as we only get further from it. Working means doing things we don’t want to do and having bad days. But spending an entire career focusing on moving up, only to feel burned out, uninspired, and out of control. How is that worth it?
This led to researching the Renaissance period and finding Beyoncé's inspiration. The idea of stripping away distractions and focusing on the art. The love for the art. It was what I wanted to do. Return to therapy for people feeling the way I’d been feeling. Maybe I could be part of the solution.
Burnout is a terrifying and all encompassing feeling. It sucks away all the energy and joy not only from our work, but from our hobbies, family, downtime, and ourself. Without realizing it, the temperature rises and rises until we can’t breathe and don’t know how to make it stop. Breaking the cycles that lead to these feelings is possible, even without quitting and starting over. Start small, identifying the feelings you don’t like. Analyze where they’re coming from and what makes them worse vs what makes them better. Find the things you can control and the things that bring you joy and make THAT the new focus. Like any change, it’s hard. But totally doable.
With some optimism, a vision, and willingness to make changes, you can find your renaissance. 💛👑🐝
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