Lost Sight of Self and Others When we are physically sick, it is hard to pay attention to the needs of others. Depending on the severity, we focus on getting ourselves well. Similarly, when we are not well emotionally, we lose awareness of what is happening in us and around us. At these times our emotional sight is impaired. I

What damages self-integrity? Burnout damaged my self-integrity. A fault line appeared in my foundations. A divide came into view between my actions and values. Like Paul in Romans 7:18 the longings to do what is right are within me, but will-power is not enough to accomplish it. My love for people and desire to engage with them was overtaken by

Heading into to burnout, most areas of life were getting smaller. The emotional tank was emptying, effectiveness declining and connections were diminishing as I increasingly withdrew. But I was growing where I didn’t want to grow. I constantly felt hungry even after eating. Now I understand it was to do with emotional depletion. My body craved food because it made

Losing self-control I didn’t know that I was approaching burnout but I felt the muscle of self-control losing strength. It felt like all the fence posts and personal boundaries I had built in as a Jesus’ follower for 43 years became wobbly. Constantly I felt hungry, so I began to consume more food and gained weight. I often had a

Remember the nursery rhyme – mirror mirror on the wall…. Well the trouble is that most of us don’t see our true reflection but rather our experience is like looking at a mirror fogged by the shower. We see some shape but not the true person. Unless you realise this, you will think the foggy shape is you. Self-reflection is

How’s your ability to bounce? How is your ability to bounce back to the bumps of life? Stuck in a rut not able to do new things? Lost the ability to innovate? A few years back that was me, approaching burnout. Resilience was damaged. Damaged resilience is one of the key indicators of emotional depletion. Depletion shows in three ways;

What are the margins that you are happy to live with? Margins are buffers we build to resource our life journey. They act like a shock absorber when you hit one of the bumps in life. Can you absorb the bumps? I used to live with low margins of time and money. The pressure of life and busyness I placed

3 secrets of buoyancy (I used to hate Mondays)—Reflect, Refocus, Replenish, So Mondays have become one of the best days of my week. I look forward to Mondays like I look forward to a great meal with great friends. I know my tank will be filling. Who fills your tank During the process of recovery from burnout, I was asked,

After time spend in reflection—how am I doing (well-being) and how well did I do what I did?—I feel good as I know that I am valuing who I am and positioning myself to have fuel to fulfil my purpose. The next thing to do is to refocus. Refocusing is clarifying my purpose and gaining clarity on what are the