Balancing Ambition with Self-Care: Avoiding Burnout in Your 20’s
I am writing this blog as a 27 year old Licensed Clinical Social Worker turned business woman/entrepreneur, a wife, mom of 1 (and another little one on the way), a friend, a daughter, but most importantly as ME - an individual. I was an individual before I held those titles, and I pride myself in being an individual that continues to maintain a sense of individuality and balance. How do I maintain it all? Truth is, it’s a juggling act - which is essentially handling many objects at one time and using whatever resources at my disposal to avoid dropping the ball (or whatever a person is juggling) while maintaining composure.
In keeping with the analogy, when it comes to balancing ambition with self care and avoiding burnout, the objects would represent a person’s ambitions, keeping the act going would represent avoiding burnout, and maintaining composure would represent the key element to ensure success - self care.
"Self-care is not a waste of time; self-care makes your use of time more sustainable" - Jackie Viramontez
What is burnout?
Let’s start by defining burnout. “Burnout is an ongoing state of feeling overwhelmed, fatigued, and emotionally drained due to consistent stress in your work, family, or social life (WebMD Editorial Contributor, 2024).”
Common signs of burnout
Exhaustion
Detachment
Feeling cynical
Decrease in productivity
Self doubt
Helplessness
Feeling defeated
Dissatisfaction
If you’re experiencing multiple items listed above, it’s possible you could be suffering from burnout. Burnout can also be confused with stress or depression, so it’s important to also get professional feedback to determine an appropriate diagnosis.
Ambition is not the issue.
I commend any and everyone who has set goals to succeed beyond their wildest dreams. Moreover, I highly recommend setting sights for success early in life which is why I founded CoreWellness, LLC - to help promote purpose and self fulfillment in young adults so life can continue to get better as they get older.
Ambition is not the issue. Rather, a person’s ability to sustain their ambitious desires can begin to prove problematic if the person struggles with being well rounded.
How do I avoid burnout?
Stress, fatigue, self doubt, dissatisfaction, etc. are all common (and likely inevitable) feelings to be expected in one’s journey towards growth and fulfillment. However, those feelings compounding and staying consistent doesn’t have to be. Some helpful tips to avoid burnout can include:
Taking a break: Rest, don’t quit. Starting ambitious goals in our 20s means we’re in this for the long haul. It’s unrealistic to believe a person will maintain the same motivation and momentum for the entire duration of their journey i.e life. After all, one of the beauties of life is living - so take pause, breathe a sigh of relief for getting started, and allow space for relaxation.
Set boundaries: No one can be everything for everybody. It’s imperative to begin early with understanding our limits of what we are willing to do and what we are not willing to do. Having this self understanding first, will make it easier to set boundaries when the time comes (and doing so unapologetically).
Delegate, delegate, delegate. Depending on what a person is trying to accomplish, it can be beneficial to consider the option of passing a task or two on to someone trusted to get it done. This could be a partner in a group project, a friend, or even a paid expert that offers the service needed to paint the bigger picture. Delegating a task can free time for you to accomplish another goal or have that much needed break we talked about earlier.
Engage in a hobby: My philosophy is ‘we work to live, not live to work.’ Work can provide us with a resource such as money which can be used to capitalize on other luxuries of life. Find a hobby to allow space for other opportunities to present themselves. Engaging in a hobby can increase productivity and happiness long term.
Celebrate the little things: If you’re someone who is extremely ambitious, chances are you’re also someone who thinks big picture and can struggle to value the little things. Along the path to success, there will be many mini (get it - haha) wins. CELEBRATE THEM! Because without them, the big win would not be accomplished.
If you believe you are struggling with burnout…
Reach out for a free consultation and one of our therapists can help provide clarity on how CoreWellness may be able to support you!
Reference: WebMD Editorial Contributor. (2024, March 5). Burnout: symptoms and signs. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/burnout-symptoms-signs
