Gia Kroker - Life Coach

I'm constantly re-learning my life. This is just one example,

I thought ambivalent meant apathetic. And I thought didactic (intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive) meant what ambivalent actually means! 🙄

My loop of illogicalness was birthed in the 7th Grade. We had to learn 100 words like these and their definitions. I think we all know why I only scored about 70% on that test. 😅

But things stay in our brains, whether they're correct or not. Once we learn they're wrong, we can choose to unlearn and/or relearn them to reflect the truth.

I think I'm to do this type of fun post regularly. Letting you know what I'm learning/unlearning/relearning that day.

What have you learnt/unlearnt/relearnt recently? 😏

Sometimes we swear it's just plain exhaustion when really, our mind, body, and soul are screaming 'burnout!' I know, it's easy to mix them up because they both hit hard with mental, physical, and emotional fatigue. But here's the kicker: exhaustion usually comes from a tough week, month or even a year or so. Whereas burnout sneaks up after years of stress overload combined with neglecting your needs, values, etc (ie your true self). Recognizing which one you're wrestling with is key to finding the right remedy.

If this sounds like your current gig, don't keep it to yourself -- share your story. Opening up can be the next step in tackling what's draining your battery.
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We tend to dismiss our symptoms of burnout. I've definitely done this. I've told myself I wasn't being tough enough. That I need to push because life is supposed to be this hard. That I just needed to grind a bit longer, then I could take a break, then it would be fine.

But it wasn't fine. Because by the time I took a break, I was completely burnt out and it took a long time to recover. It wasn't a fun road to recovery. It was filled with self-shame and self-embarrassment. Because I thought healing "should" be easy and there was something wrong with me.

Burnout's real. As usual, I don't think the stats, surveys and articles truly reflect how many people have it. I think there's waaaay more than we're willing to admit. The government, employers and doctors don't want to admit it because that would mean doing something about it. Plus, populations don't really understand it, all the symptoms and how it can effect lives.

If the stats were accurate, how much of the population in your country do you think currently has burnout? I think maybe 50%. What do you think? 🤔

Surprise, surprise. The Word Health Organization lets us down once again. 😔

According to their definition, burnout ONLY happens to employed people. Which means they don't believe unemployed people, particularly those with disabilities or their at-home carers, can have burnout. Or students (high school, university, etc.). Or stay-at-home parents.

This also means none of those groups mentioned above would experience chronic exhaustion, negativity/cynicism or become less effective in their studies, parenting/caring, daily living, etc. And yet, based on my experiences and talking to many other people who've experienced burnout, I beg to differ.

WHO - you kidding me?!?! 🤦‍♀️

What if your job is going great but the rest of your life is a dumpster fire, causing you to have burnout? Then the burnout bleeds into your work life. Do HR and WHO simply blame work and then start passing out bandaids, like a doctor addressing only the symptoms rather than the actual cause? Does it ever get to a point where they're willing to admit there's a larger and deeper issue or do they just wait until you have a breakdown that usually ends up in extreme burnout?

Do you agree with the WHO? Can you think of any other groups that could/should be included in the WHO list?
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this below! 🤓
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Burnout is real. It's not imaginary. It won't just magically disappear one day. Like a physical injury, it gets worse the longer your ignore it.

I've had burnout five times. Yep, five! I like to repeat my mistakes to really master them lol. And each time, I tried to "push through". Ignore it. And each time, I lost and the burnout was worse. It took longer to "fix". And that's also because I didn't know I was only fixing the burnout on the surface, that there was a deeper layer that needed to be addressed in order for it to heal permanently.

Does that mean I don't get tired and rundown and depressed from time-to-time? Hell no. But now I know how to get on top of it so that it doesn't develop into real burnout again. See, I can learn my lesson eventually ;-)
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Burnout is about more than just working through your issues and minimising stresses. It's about creating the life you want by unravelling the person you want to be. Then it's being brave enough to take the necessary steps to create that person, that life. Sounds simple? Possibly. Sounds easy? Hell no! 🤣

Does it sound simple to you? 🧐
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Chronic burnout. Not that short-term stuff but the long-haul stuff. The kind of exhausted burnout that's sunk into your bones. And you can't remember a time when it wasn't there. Oooof.
Or am I the only one?!?! 😅

It's time to start exploring it more. And more. Why? Because it's more widely spread than we like to think. It's one of the hidden pandemics of our time. I've had it not once, not twice, hell not even three times. I've had it five times. And it kept coming back because I didn't really know how to fix it. I only knew how to bandaid it. You know - exercise, eat better, get a massage, set boundaries, etc. And that worked for a time but then...it came back.

So going forward we'll be exploring short-term burnout AND chronic burnout. But let's start with the good stuff - how to overcome and heal Chronic Burnout. 😎

Red Sky at night, sailors delight.
Red Sky in the morning, sailors take warning.

Looks like it's gonna be a bumpy ride today out on the high seas. I wonder if this holds true if you're a Water Sign 🤔😄🤔

I'm a Water Sign. So today I'm going to set as many Strategic Intentions as possible. Apparently there has been a scientific study proving the effectiveness of setting Strategic Intentions. I haven't read it yet but it's on my Potentially Want To Do One Day List 😎

Welcome to winter, Adelaide 😢

Watching Ferris Beuller's Day Off on the giant screen in my friend's backyard with his friends and family.

Best movie I've seen in ages! Or maybe it's because of the gorgeous weather, perfect setting and great company.

💖💯💖💯💖💯💖💯💖