As a doctor, I have a problem with people saying, "You just have to be more resilient"
The main reasons healthcare professionals burn out and drop out is that their organizations don't respect them, and the sick care system chews them up. Healthcare professionals are some of the most resilient people in the workforce.
I don't think we disagree here. Resilience is saying repeatedly encounter a negative force and an obstacle but be able to withstand it. It's like saying get used to getting punched in the face by growing calluses and when the bones break they grow back stronger. Not a good way to handle things.
So I'm not in any way speaking about resilience. I'm speaking about figuring out why you're struggling and surrendering your attachment to the outcome or the belief. So in the sick care analogy (totally agree there) we expend energy ignoring the fact we don't help patients we just mitigate symptoms. You then keep sitting there hoping the patients, doctors, system will be better until it makes you sick.
Instead here is more of a sitting back and meditating until you've only done three things:
1. Relaxed your attachment to the system changing or providing an outcome.
2. Deciding whether you still provide value or whether you're able to provide value in that system.
3. If you can't, stop and do something where you do provide value. If you can do it to the best of your ability while seeing what you can do to change.
Oh, and also figuring out how much of your identity (next article) is wrapped up in that outcome or attachment. Like I'm only worth something if I can solve this problem, but all these damn things keep getting in the way leaving me stressed. That's the "problem" I'm referring to for this shorter article.
Everything I've seen points to burnout being a symptom of being too attached and too caught in our own illusion. When you exit the illusion and let go of the attachments the burnout first releases and then disappears. Then you choose not to re-enter. That doesn't mean you don't re-enter "life" or "living" as described by the modern world. You get to live, work, play, explore, create. You just don't chase, strive, push, fight and stress which all create the burnout. You simply detach from the outcome, let go of the stories, and do what needs to be done. When stress appears you can ask where you're getting attached to the outcome and let that go too. Have you given it a try?
As a doctor, I have a problem with people saying, "You just have to be more resilient"
The main reasons healthcare professionals burn out and drop out is that their organizations don't respect them, and the sick care system chews them up. Healthcare professionals are some of the most resilient people in the workforce.
I don't think we disagree here. Resilience is saying repeatedly encounter a negative force and an obstacle but be able to withstand it. It's like saying get used to getting punched in the face by growing calluses and when the bones break they grow back stronger. Not a good way to handle things.
So I'm not in any way speaking about resilience. I'm speaking about figuring out why you're struggling and surrendering your attachment to the outcome or the belief. So in the sick care analogy (totally agree there) we expend energy ignoring the fact we don't help patients we just mitigate symptoms. You then keep sitting there hoping the patients, doctors, system will be better until it makes you sick.
Instead here is more of a sitting back and meditating until you've only done three things:
1. Relaxed your attachment to the system changing or providing an outcome.
2. Deciding whether you still provide value or whether you're able to provide value in that system.
3. If you can't, stop and do something where you do provide value. If you can do it to the best of your ability while seeing what you can do to change.
Does that fit more?
Oh, and also figuring out how much of your identity (next article) is wrapped up in that outcome or attachment. Like I'm only worth something if I can solve this problem, but all these damn things keep getting in the way leaving me stressed. That's the "problem" I'm referring to for this shorter article.
Hope you don't burn out in re-entry
Everything I've seen points to burnout being a symptom of being too attached and too caught in our own illusion. When you exit the illusion and let go of the attachments the burnout first releases and then disappears. Then you choose not to re-enter. That doesn't mean you don't re-enter "life" or "living" as described by the modern world. You get to live, work, play, explore, create. You just don't chase, strive, push, fight and stress which all create the burnout. You simply detach from the outcome, let go of the stories, and do what needs to be done. When stress appears you can ask where you're getting attached to the outcome and let that go too. Have you given it a try?