LISTEN TO EPISODE 5

SCOTT DOW:

"If someone's burning out, they don't need time off. In fact, time off can make things even worse, and here's why. Hard work doesn't cause burnout. The compounding effects of stressful thoughts, that's what causes burnout, and a few days off won't cure stressful thinking. The time away often leads to even more stressful thinking.

If someone is burning out, they need a safe space, a place where they can voice their stressful thoughts without fear of judgment. People need to talk out their stressful thoughts, and you're the best person to do that with. They report to you, they're accountable to you, and you control their stress-relief valve.

You got to get people to open up. And to do that, they've got to trust you. And the only way they're going to trust you is if they think you care about them. You have to show a genuine, consistent interest in their well-being, and you start by being empathetic. Empathy encourages people to open up, and that's the only way you're going to find their stressful thoughts.

Burnout is a psychological condition and it's a coping mechanism. Your mind protects you from prolonged exposure to stressful thinking by signaling to your body that it's exhausted, by encouraging you to disengage, to not care as much. It even triggers a cynical point of view.

The only way to cope with stressful thinking is to talk it out. To clear up the misconceptions, the misperceptions, and the misunderstandings that are leading to stressful thoughts. You have to replace inaccurate, counterproductive thoughts with more accurate and productive thoughts. That's the only way to treat stressful thinking, and it's the only way to deal with burnout."