Burnout Quotes

“I'm not making sense, and I'm so tired of having to make sense. I've even more tired of talking about how OK or not OK I am. I'm not. I've failed. That's it. People should stop going on about it.”
― Corinne Duyvis, On the Edge of Gone

“Fighting for something you believe in isn't easy. If you hit a sore spot, people are going to swipe at you, gripe at you, try to undermine you, infuriate you, try to shut you up and put you back in your box. I was starting to learn that was a sign you were asking the right questions, picking the right scabs. And though it's easy to lose yourself along the way, and start focusing on all the people who don't want things to change--for whatever broken, messed-up reasons of their own--you can easily find your way back. By listening to the people giving you a hand up. To the people who have your back. To the people who don't think you're a raving lunatic. Let them be your mirror--not the haters. Let them give you the strength to get the job done.”
― Holly Bourne, What's a Girl Gotta Do?

“I’m so busy, I’m not even available yesterday.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“I know you're worried. I'm sorry. I'm just...very..." I can't think of the right word. How do I explain that mind is too slow and too jumbled all at once. That I'm out of gas? That I've failed, and the only way to keep from falling apart is to accept that? Or that maybe I've already fallen apart, and I don't know if I can sweep the pieces back together?
I settle on three words. "I am tired.”
― Corinne Duyvis, On the Edge of Gone

“The only thing I was good at was winning scholarships and prizes, and that era was coming to an end”
― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

“When the burden is not yours to carry, put it down.”
― Najamah Davis, MSW, LCSW

“Daily consumption of caffeine makes sleeping long enough seem like a waste of time.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

“It is not the career we need to conquer but our own reasons for living into it.”
― Julieanne O'Connor

“Burnout is not just about being too busy or feeling overwhelmed…It's feeling like your work has no purpose and you don't have support.”
― Richie Norton

“You are a disappointment, I expected better from you. You need to do more."
"Doing more is exhausting," Celia protests. "I can only control so much."
"It's not enough," her father says.
"When will it be enough?" Celia asks, but there is no reply, and she stands alone amongst the stars.”
― Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus

“If your working circumstances are costing you your physical, mental, or emotional health, it's too expensive.”
― Robin Kirby, The Sparkle: How to Beat Burnout, End Exhaustion and Find a Career that Lights You Up.

“We tend to assign a lesser social value to those whose doing cannot be enslaved into a given output. We should look to them as sacred guides out of the bondage of productivity. Instead, we withhold social status and capital, and we neglect to acknowledge that theirs is a liberation we can learn from.”
― Cole Arthur Riley, This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us

“Working for yourself does not make working too hard any less foolish.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

“...the fast models of mechanization have taken over how we think about scholarship and ourselves. Slowing down is a matter of ethical import. To drive oneself as if one were a machine should be recognized as a form of self-harm.”
― Maggie Berg, Slow Professor: Challenging the Culture of Speed in the Academy

“It is wise to be lazy, intermittently.”
― @Mokokoma Mokhonoana

“But you were unhappy. The different between you then and you now... I wish you'd told someone."
Unhappy doesn't cover it. I dreaded school so much, I couldn't sleep at night and couldn't get up in the morning; I'd park my bike near the bike garage exit just so I could be the first to leave after classes.
"It got harder after a while," is all I say.”
― Corinne Duyvis, On the Edge of Gone

“For a moment, I'm tempted. Work was fine first, wasn't it? I enjoyed it, and she's right, the stress will never again be as bad as it's been—
But school was like that, too. Starting each year thinking it'd be different, and within a month I'd be skipping class and fighting tears in the girls' bathroom.”
― Corinne Duyvis, On the Edge of Gone

“It’s your job to be curious. To discover what matters. Then to give yourself over to it fully. But none of this is entirely possible, if you are not practicing self-care.”
― Julieanne O'Connor

“Arise eat and rest with no remorse, because the journey is long.”
― Dr. Lucas D. Shallua

“We have to learn to number the days of our life; the hours of the day, days of the week, weeks of the months, and the months of the year. In all the counting we need to factor in the breaks, rests, and vacations.”
― Dr. Lucas D. Shallua

“It is only humans who are created to work; then enjoy their work. We have to learn to do both since we have only one life to live.”
― Dr. Lucas D. Shallua

“Burnout will have you taking a pause for weeks, months, and even years. Take care of yourself and prioritize your overall needs. You will actually have better results after some much-needed time of relaxation.

If you don't take this more seriously, you can run the risk of losing passion for something you once loved. And it takes an immensity of work to get the urge back.”
― Robin S. Baker

“Rest is no longer associated with “recovery” as part of the coping cycle, but instead is associated with an intentional space of stillness and deep, internal connection that we consciously create by building this space into our day-to-day activities [..].”
― Heather Dominick-Kosmicki Dominick-Kosmicki

“Your worth is not measured by your income level, job status, job title, productivity, popularity, or performance ratings.”
― Robin Kirby, The Sparkle: How to Beat Burnout, End Exhaustion and Find a Career that Lights You Up.

“Our jobs were never meant to become the center of us. They were never meant to be the source of our worthiness. They were never meant to become the start and end of our identity.”
― Robin Kirby, The Sparkle: How to Beat Burnout, End Exhaustion and Find a Career that Lights You Up.

“I hate burnout, but we have to listen to our body when it is pleading for us to relax more. We’re so trained to constantly be on the hamster wheel. Take a break, rest, and do something enjoyable for yourself. You’re still on track.”
― Robin S. Baker

“Burnout prevention starts with YOU. Invest in your happiness & well-being for a better tomorrow.”
― Felecia Etienne, Overcoming Mediocrity: Limitless Women

“Swap out burnout for inner balance by embracing daily rituals that support sustainable success with ease.”
― Felecia Etienne, Overcoming Mediocrity: Limitless Women

“We no longer believe in work/life balance: It’s all just life. And we need to know it’s a life that we want to live, filled with security, confidence, love, and meaning. The idea that we turn “off” life when we turn “on” work is outmoded. What happens to us at work, the choices we make at work, how we lead at work—all of this impacts our macro and micro quality of life, and the nature of the world we live in.”
― Janice Fraser, Farther, Faster, and Far Less Drama: How to Reduce Stress and Make Extraordinary Progress Wherever You Lead

“Some people realize very late that they're not holding the earth on its axis by too much work they're doing. Remember, with or without you life will continue just normally on this planet, so take a break and rest more often.”
― Dr. Lucas D. Shallua