How to Prevent Burnout with Self-Care
Posted on May 29, 2023 by Dianna Collier, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
Are you interested in preventing burnout? Meaningful self-care is the process of identifying your needs and responding to them in a kind way.
When you wake up in the morning, where do your thoughts go? Your to-do list? Your schedule? Worries about the important people in your life? Or do you gently stretch and check into what you need for the day? If this last possibility has never occurred to you, you would not be alone.
Many of us are jarred awake from an alarm in the morning & immediately focus on the outside world with all the obligations of the day and continue this outward focus throughout the day. Without pausing to consider our own needs, they are often unmet. This constant outward focus can lead us to burnout.
The Solution
Meaningful self-care is the process of identifying your needs and responding to them in a kind way. It builds your inner and outer resources so you can face challenges throughout your day and flourish.
Uncertain how to identify your needs?
My favorite tool for identifying self-care needs is a check-in using the SPIRE model of wellbeing. This model, created by Wholebeing Institute, describes five perspectives that contribute to overall well-being and form the acronym SPIRE. Each perspective has two principles that can be evaluated. Give it a try as you read about each one.
Consider to what extent you felt this principle in your life during the past week? 1=not at all, 5=extremely
S-Spiritual
*Leading a meaningful life
*Mindfully savoring the present
P-Physical
*Caring for the body
*Tapping into the mind/body connection
I-Intellectual
*Engaging in deep learning
*Opening to experience
R-Relational
*Nurturing a constructive relationship with self
*Nurturing a constructive relationship with others
E-Emotional
*Feeling all emotions
*Reaching towards resilience and positivity
Do you notice any areas that are strong? Do you see areas that might need more attention? Now that you have identified your current needs, it is time to address these needs kindly.
Follow these five principles to address your needs kindly.
1. Acknowledge the importance of your needs. Taking care of your needs is not frivolous. You cannot produce quality work or help others if you are depleted. My client, a grief coach, recognized that she needed to increase her self-care so she could maintain the energy required to provide consistent compassionate care. After acknowledging the importance of her self-care, she soon developed a plan that allowed her to thrive in this role.
2. Set boundaries. To find time for restorative activities, you may need to set boundaries with work colleagues, family or friends. One of my clients needed to clearly state that he would not be available for work emergencies on Sundays since this was not part of his work description. He reclaimed his personal time.
3. Use self-compassion. Notice when you are having a hard time, acknowledge that suffering is a part of being human, and offer yourself kindness like you would a close friend. Recently, I have started to offer myself compassion when I am struggling with non-responsive migraines. Self-compassion does not make the headaches go away, but it decreases the emotional pain associated with them.
4. Ask for & receive help. As a social species, humans are meant to rely on each other for help. Our stress levels decrease when we feel supported. Several mothers in my self-renewal groups admitted that this was a difficult but powerful change for them. Although they initially worried that they would be regarded as a burden to others, they found that asking for & receiving help strengthened their relationships with the helpers.
5. Ground your self-care in your values. Take the VIA (Values in Action) to discover your signature strengths. Using strengths regularly increases happiness and reduces stress. Experiment with different ways to use your strengths daily. Consider what has worked in the past.
Practicing meaningful self-care requires a deliberate effort to move our focus inward to address our needs kindly. This focus pays off as we avoid burnout and flourish in our daily lives.
If you would like help creating meaningful self-care, send me an email at dianna@collierclan.net to request a free consultation.
