Breaking out of the burnout cycle - workplace stress is not all equal
“The more obstinately you try to learn how to shoot the arrow for the sake of hitting the goal, the less you will succeed in the one and the further the other will recede”
I have worked in many high stress jobs and dealt with all the baggage that comes with them. From trading on fast moving equity markets, to stressing about how I am going to pay my employees next week as an entrepreneur, I'd say I've dealt a fair share of stress and anguish. But one thing I’ve learnt is that not all stress is equal.
You see, no matter how much stress entrepreneurship has caused me, the difficult days are balanced out because I love doing what I do. Unlike my days in finance, I wake up looking forward to getting to work, and don't mind working even longer hours to give my company a fighting chance of survival.
I don't mean to imply that doing what you love cannot cause burnout. But from experience, I can say that doing something I don't like and facing constant stress most surely will.
Goals without goalposts
In finance, my only incentive to excel was rooted in the goal. I tried hard every day so I could make more money for the company, and consequently my bonus. I enjoyed very little of what I actually did on a day to day basis, and over time, all of the stress and late nights made me miserable. I dreaded going to work, and most things about the work itself. I stopped enjoying things that were normally my respite from work like cooking, hiking, or video games. It alarmed me that life was losing colour rapidly, and I had no idea why.
With the help of research and professionals, I realised that there was a name for what I was feeling: burnout.
My road to recovery
I quit my finance job, and before deciding on my next career move, I thought I'd take advantage of a sabbatical. I tried a lot of things - I travelled for four months, I hiked for hundreds of kilometres, and visited old friends. After half a year of this, I finally felt like myself again, and I thought I could make a good decision on what to do next.
For context: A study shows that burnout recovery takes anywhere from 6 weeks to 2 years, with an average of 6 to 9 months. Source: Workplace Strategies For Mental Health
A repeating cycle?
I was nervous when I first decided to become an entrepreneur. I knew that entrepreneurs have to deal with a high level of stress and uncertainty, and I was wary of burning out and repeating the cycle all over again.
My estimation of the challenges entrepreneurs face was correct: there is a tremendous amount of stress, late nights, uncertainty in the field. If I had a nickel for every time someone told me they were burnt out...
Yet despite almost the same stress, hours and difficulties as finance, I found myself, to my own surprise, much more resilient. I wasn't burning out. In actuality, I was looking forward to going to work everyday, and taking on newer challenges.
The only thing that really changed for me was that on most days, I really loved what I was doing. I was surprised how much stress I could take on when it came, because on other days, I enjoyed my work immensely.
The key for me was not to simply look for work that I was passionate about, but to find work that I loved on most days.
If you also love philosophy, search for Zen In The Art of Archery.
Zen In the Art of Archery is a masterpiece by Eugen Herrigel, a German philosopher living in Japan in the 1920s. He is credited with introducing zen to the western world. The book follows him as he learns Kyūdō, a form of Japanese archery from a revered master. One of my favorite books since secondary school.
About the Author:
Dhruv Sahi is a data scientist and entrepreneur currently residing in London, UK. He loves developing quantitative models for everything from football to personalisation, and helps companies optimize performance leveraging AI and ML. When not working, Dhruv loves to hike, cook, and write.
