Job Burnout--Do You Need A New Direction?
Beverly Price, RD, MA, President, Jump Start Consulting
Do you often
wonder if you are on the right career path? Many individuals get to
a point in their career where they become "burned out" or
things just aren't going their way. How do you know if this may be you?
Perhaps, you don't have the same enthusiasm you once had for your business
or practice setting. You may find yourself taking more "sick"
days, canceling meetings and appointments, surfing the Internet vs.
working along with low energy, depression, chronic disease or increased
amount of distractions.
There is nothing wrong with switching career directions mid-stream,
taking a hiatus for a few months or even longer or even de-emphasizing
a part of your business while adding a complement that you may have
more passion for.
The secret of success is having passion for what you do. If that passion
dies, a part of you may feel dead as well. You can either develop a
new idea or simply take a break to re-group. Although hind site is always
the best teacher, I can honestly say that if I took more time for myself
and had more balance in my life during the years of my private practice,
my burn out could have been avoided. I do admit that re-entering counseling
this time around, adjunct to business consulting, is so different and
so much more balanced at this point that I refuse to let myself become
tired of any one aspect of what I am doing.
I have also found that practicing yoga has forced me to breathe, meditate,
focus and rely more on my own intuition regarding business decisions
while maintaining my energy and avoiding overdoing anything.
Recently, we had a discussion on the Jump Start list serve regarding
burnout. Here are some of the ways fellow practitioners have combated
or prevented job burnout:
Mediate and journal your thoughts
Risk a job change or change of environment
Search for new growth challenges
Schedule your clients to allow adequate breaks for yourself
Stick with your core values
Cultivate a strong support system
Develop a hobby which you look forward to doing outside of work
Prevention of job burnout is the key. Remember, no amount of money is
worth the risk of your health. Learn more at http://www.gettingthatjumpstart.com/index.htm
Beverly Price is a Registered Dietitian, author, newspaper
columnist and public speaker who made a name for herself with her unique
approach to nutrition counseling. After 11 years in private practice,
she sold Living Better Sensibly -- one of the largest private nutrition
practices in the country - to an independent nutrition-counseling firm,
and started Jump Start Consulting specializing in management and marketing
strategies for dietitans and other healthcare professionals, along with
distance learning products for continuing professional education.
