Burnout to Breakthrough: Building Resilience to Refuel, Recharge, and Reclaim What Matters

Motivational speaker McDargh (Talk Ain’t Cheap... It’s Priceless!) tackles burnout and how to sustain one’s energy in this sharp work. McDargh explains her first encounter with burnout in 1984, which prompted her to research the topic and to dig into the work of psychologist Herbert Freudenberger, who first introduced the term. What she learned led McDargh to identify burnout as a “devotion to a cause, a way of life, or relationship that failed to produce the expected reward.” She provides self-assessments and writing exercises to identify instances of burnout alongside lists of statistics and anecdotes about those suffering through a “global epidemic” that the World Health Organization legitimized in 2019 by adding burnout to its list of health concerns. McDargh posits that breakthroughs come from understanding how one’s mental energy is spent and setting boundaries to conserve one’s energy. She also warns against confusing breakthrough with balance (“Who are we trying to kid? There’s no such thing as balance”), as pursuing balance leads to false expectations of giving equal attention to all aspects of one’s life. Those feeling worn down by life and work will want to give this a look. (Aug.)