A Mindfulness Practice To Burn Bright Instead Of Burn Out This Decade

Over the past roughly two years, we've all seen a rise in the conversations about inflammation in our bodies and gut imbalances that are leading to other health complications. In my work as a reiki healer and spiritual empowerment coach, I've seen fatigue among so many of my peers and clients. These are people who are not necessarily looking or acting exhausted on the outside, and they have a general demeanor of being optimistic and happy. But on the inside, they are tired almost every morning when they wake up and are going at a fast pace on what feels like a life treadmill. 

While there is no arguing that the medical components of our bodies need to be addressed—things like regular blood work, balancing the hormones, and addressing cortisol depletion—I have become increasingly concerned about the burnout that is happening for people on a spiritual and mental level. The burnout that is taking place for people who range from feeling happy in their lives to the ones who feel like they have no place in the world and have no purpose. Burnout is finding them all the same and trickling into their bodies in a way that can no doubt lead to the physical disharmonies that come from stress. 

In the past, burnout has been associated with more of a dramatic flare: passing out at work and finding out it's exhaustion, a mental or physical breakdown, that prevents someone from continuing their day-to-day tasks. But here, we are talking about the subtle burnout in which life feels manageable and exhausting at the same time. 

So much of burnout, in my personal and professional experiences, is about individuals not taking the time to tune into their desires and needs on a mind, body, and spirit level, which is also why mindbodygreen made it one of the wellness trends to watch in 2020. They are running off of the inertia of their external daily life, like emails, work, family, relationships, perceived societal and personal expectations that they themselves have not yet actually sat down to question and tune in to see if their life choices are actually supporting them or hurting them.

As we enter the new decade, each one of us deserves to let go of the old ways we've shown up to our lives that deplete us and take a big step into the way we want to experience and show up in our lives. Contrary to what many believe, burning bright and feeling wholeness is not always about feeling high, productive, happy energy and a desire to socialize. It's about knowing yourself and getting curious enough to want to understand your rhythms and cycles with life and to deeply honor them without forcing yourself to show up in the world from a place of feeling burned out. 

As you enter this new decade, get curious about how you've been showing up to different aspects of your life so you can begin to incorporate new rituals, new daily practices to burn bright.