WHY DO YOU FEEL LIKE DOING NOTHING? IS IT LAZINESS??

Most of us go through times when we don’t feel like doing anything, and we call that laziness. But this doesn’t always mean it is laziness. You might be burnt out.

– WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAZINESS AND BURNOUT?

LAZINESS: It is a character trait. If you are a lazy person, it means you enjoy wasting your time without feeling uncomfortable or guilty. You do not like to exert any effort to accomplish a goal, even if you have the ability to do so.

BURNOUT: It is when you can not function physically and mentally. You feel emotionally drained and depleted, do not have the mental and physical energy to do your tasks, and are not productive as you used to be but deep inside, you do not like this, and you hate wasting your time.

BURNOUT SYMPTOMS:

Burnout is a result of prolonged stress, especially in working environments. And these are its symptoms: exhaustion, overwhelming, lack of accomplishment, lack of motivation, feelings of ineffectiveness, disconnection from feelings, lack of concentration, loss of interest in things around you ( work, business, life, etc.), and not caring anymore.

THE CORRELATION BETWEEN BURNOUT AND DEPRESSION:

They both have similar symptoms. And although most studies are still unsure if there is an overlap between burnout and depression. I still think there is to some degree. I believe that burnout can be mixed with depression sometimes in some cases. Because what causes burnout might lead to depression. So, I believe that there is a correlation between the two but not in all cases.

– Feeling burnt out is not easy. It is like you are fighting with life every day and struggling to feel things around again, to have the motivation and the reason to continue doing your daily tasks. And it feels like nothing matters to you anymore. The things that used to excite you are not exciting anymore. It is like you are saying I have had enough, I am too exhausted not just to take action but to even feel anything. And you become angry because it is not easy to have nothing to excite you in life or the energy to do the tasks that need to be done. Especially, if you are an entrepreneur and have your own business and you are responsible for its success.

– Feeling burnt out has so many reasons. It is so important to know why you feel burnt out to know how to overcome it. So, let’s talk about the reasons that make you feel burnt out, then I will give a few ways to help you overcome it.

1- YOU NEED A BREAK:

In some cases, you simply just need a break after working none stop. If you are exhausted do not force yourself to be productive and work more. The more you resist your feelings, the more stressed you become. Give yourself permission to take a break and rest to recharge again, and do not feel guilty about it. It is your right to rest. You need to take care of yourself. But at the same time, be disciplined and wise about it because you do not want to get used to resting because it might turn into a habit, and then it becomes hard for you to be productive again and finish tasks. So, you should be wise and know how much to work and how long your breaks should be.
And to avoid burning out, you need to create a balance between work and your life away from it. And that is by taking a break from time to time without waiting until you burn out. It can be a vacation, just resting at home or going out with friends and forgetting about work. The break should reset you, and you should regain your energy again.

2- PERFECTIONISM:

If you are a perfectionist, you are more likely to experience burnout. You pay attention to the small and unnecessary details in your work, business, or even your relationships with others. You overcomplicate simple tasks and work too hard on them, trying to reach perfection. And whatever you achieve doesn’t satisfy you because it does not seem enough. So, you never enjoy your achievements. Perfectionists want to do everything themselves because they do not think that others can do the work as well as they do. And so they overload themselves with work. Over time eventually, they will not be able to work any harder because they are exhausted and they should be. And they are not seeing the results they want. That’s why they burn out.
Perfection does not exist and pursuing it is like walking after an illusion. So, all You need to do is your best, not the best. It is enough and it is all you need to be proud of what you do and always be motivated.

3- YOU NEED A REWARD:

When you work too hard on your goal or at the company you work for and you are not rewarded for your work eventually you will feel burnt out. And so, you need to get a reward from your boss at work or see results in your business (which will be the reward for you) in order to stay motivated to continue working.
The reward might not always be tangible. It can be intangible such as appreciation, recognition, and positive feedback. Rewards that meet your needs.
You need to be rewarded to find meaning in what you do and repeat the same behavior. Now, your dopamine increases when you pursue a goal to get the final reward. And dopamine is a molecule of more. And so when you get a reward, dopamine makes you engage in the same behavior again to get the same reward. Now, when you do not get a reward after working hard for a long time, you feel unmotivated to continue working or repeat the same behavior because it did not lead to a reward. You feel depleted and burnt out.

To avoid burn out follow these tips:

1- If you are a business owner and your employees feel burnt out, reward them every now and then, recognize their hard work, and give them positive feedback from time to time.

2- Now, if you have your own business and are not seeing results yet. Here’s a technique to apply to not feel burnt out again. Focus on the process. It means you need to associate dopamine with your action. And it means feeling rewarded when finishing tasks and doing your work. That’s why when you love what you do every time you put in the effort and finish a task, you feel good and rewarded because that’s progress, and it is an accomplishment in itself. And you can still work for the big reward but do not rely on it to feel happy and satisfied, do not expect to get it at a specific time or for taking specific action to not feel disappointed when you do not get it as expected.
Dopamine is a neuromodulator and is released when you pursue a goal. It is responsible for motivation, drive, and craving. It makes you get off your couch and get things done and take action to reach the reward or the ending result. But when you associate it with the ending result only or the reward it is like you are delaying enjoyment until you get the reward. It is a belief you have in your mind. And beliefs are responsible for the way we feel. And what happens if you do not get the reward, you feel devastated and burnt out. And you feel like you can not function anymore and are depleted because that behavior did not lead to a reward. And work feels hard and painful. Now, burnout does not happen quickly. It usually happens after failing a few times to get the expected reward or after waiting for it for a long time and not getting it. So, as we said enjoy the process.

4- YOUR GOAL IS NOT CLEAR:

When your goal is not clear, there will come a time when you do not know why you do what you do. And so you lose interest in what you do and burn out. When you do not have a clear goal you will not have a vision. Having a vision is so important. When you imagine yourself reaching your goal you get motivated to work to fulfill that vision. If you are excited about your goals, you can’t sit still. You would do anything to reach it. And you will enjoy the process so you do not burn out. The goal should be meaningful to motivate you enough to accomplish it. So, when you feel burnt out, ask yourself this question: ” Do I really want this?”. Make sure that what you do is what you really want and are passionate about.

5- YOUR LIFE IS NOT EXCITING ANYMORE:

Everyone has their own reasons to lose excitement in life. So, when you feel like doing nothing, and nothing feels exciting anymore. Push yourself to do fun things or at least used to be fun to you before you started losing interest in everything, and do them even if you do not feel like doing them. If you used to enjoy walking, go out and walk again. If your work is your passion and you used to have fun when you were working, force yourself to work again ( in this case, when you have your own business and have the freedom to either work or not). Now, at first, it feels hard and painful, but once you engage yourself in the activities you used to enjoy one day, you will start feeling good and feeling that you miss them. And those tasks or activities will trigger you again to repeat them. And slowly, you will overcome burnout and feel excited again about life.

6- YOUR REALITY DOES NOT MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS:

Unrealistic expectations lead to burnout. Like the expectations that are made in your imagination. For example, you always imagine yourself creating your own product and that the product makes a lot of sales in its first month, and then in reality, when you create your product, nobody buys it. So, you feel disappointed because your reality did not meet your expectations that had felt so real in your head. Reaching a high goal is like going up a ladder. Can you go up from the first step to the tenth step? You start from step one, and gradually, you reach the top. So if you expect yourself to go up immediately to the tenth step is like you are setting yourself up for failure. So, every time you create unrealistic expectations in your head and in reality you fail to fulfill them and so you do not live up to the person you wanted to be or the place you wanted to be at, you feel disappointed, lose interest in what you do, and your brain starts producing negative thoughts. So, you feel depleted and exhausted, and you burn out.
Dream big but be realistic when you think of the way to reach that dream and be honest with yourself.

– Finally, if you feel burnt out, do not sit there and wait for things to work out. Think about the reasons that made you burn out. And when you find the problem, think of a solution to it instead of feeling sad, unmotivated, and complaining about it if your business, relationship, or whatever caused your burnout means to you. If you want any situation to be changed, you need to take action to change it. Trust me, you can take control again. You are stronger than you think.