BURNOUT OR STAND OUT?

“Running a startup is like chewing glass and staring into the abyss. After a while, you stop staring, but the glass chewing never ends” ~ Elon Musk.

Is this relatable to you?

Imagine a scenario where everyone had shorter working hours. Does it indeed add brownie points to your efficiency counter? Society then would not be piled with a plethora of depressed souls that echo the song of release, but filled with contented ones. It is like riding a cycle with a flat tyre that tears every hamstring but all to win a race. Is it the best way? I beg to differ. Surveys state those long working hours are the prime reasons for ill health, both mental and physical. They also revealed that longer working hours increase the risks of cardiac arrests by 30% as stated by The NCBI. Time should also be spent to build a network, socialize and share more eventually creating a coherent mesh by which people stay connected. Yes connections!!

Burnout isn’t a new concept but it isn’t an understatement either to say that many people are falling prey to this “modern virus” exponentially in the 21st Century. With increased rivalry and bottle neck competition, it becomes hard to cope-up with your regimen. Movies like The Intern 2015 by Nancy Meyers have accurately portrayed the life of a budding entrepreneur who hasn’t slept in years amidst a mid-life crisis.

Precisely, burnout is like a game of Tetris. The blocks keep piling up. And you, with no sense of hope or anxiety keep fitting in the blocks. You try. You race against time until you realize that you are doomed. GAME OVER.

An examination by Forbes uncovered that, by and large, a push is a massive issue for entrepreneurs. When venturing to accomplish business objectives and networking, these entrepreneurs would most likely over-burden themselves with manifold of obligations thereby draining their assets. The expense of asset consumption can usher in diminishing time or take a bite from one’s personal space. According to Medium, Mark Cuban, earlier felt a void in his chest and succumbed to depression and an engulfing sense of detachment. Aiming to confront his miseries, he addressed this issue over Twitter that caught the eyeballs of the world and the tweet spread like wildfire. The tweet showed concern towards “E-sport players are burning out in their 20s.”

Shaun White, a three time Olympic Gold medalist recently spoke on how he took Michael Phelps’ dark demons as sincere lessons and learnt to board slide it. It is very crucial to maintain a balance between the cubicle and home. Regardless of her hectic schedule, Indra Nooyi, former CEO of Pepsico, prioritizes her family over work and has been very vocal about it. Aaron Swartz, Co-founder of Reddit, felt during his crazy schedule, there had been occasions when an individual goes deep into the dark well of depression. Tragically, Aaron committed suicide in 2013. An immensely gifted programmer suffered betrayal, burnout and hollowness in the process and surrendered to the Dark Dog of Death. The impending pressure slowly crumbles a person and this is when a right infusion of energy is needed from friends and family.

It has become a ritual for highly ambitious individuals to maintain a 80-100 hour work week. Elon Musk himself preaches and practices the same. However one should note that he himself realized it later stepped out from Tesla and also made the patents free.

It is advisable to seek help. Speak out to a friend, a mentor and even a shrink if needed. Introspect. Hone your mind and body. Stress is going to influence one’s execution antagonistically. One should loosen up after a hard day’s work by reveling in a leisure activity with compadres with whom they can have a conversation. At last, the main dilemma lies with that voice of the brain that strives to accomplish tranquility in all domains.

It is imperative to remember that inside everyone lies a tsunami of capabilities that is yet to be discovered.

However it is important to tame that uncontainable power because let’s face it:

If the artery of the volcano is not treated well, it erupts” ~ AS