I think it's safe to say that I don't know a single person who hasn't been through a period of burnout.

Some temporary burnout is normal, especially after you've expended a big surge of energy. I remember feeling exhausted and lethargic for a couple of days after finals in college or after completing a big project at work.

Temporary burnout is bound to happen from time to time, and as long as you give yourself some recovery time after a particularly busy or stressful period, you'll recalibrate pretty quickly.

Long-term burnout, however, is becoming more and more common, and it's extremely hard on the body and mind. It comes from having too many expectations and putting forth a huge effort over a long span of time.

I had never experienced long-term burnout until I started a business, which is a huge effort and takes years of intense commitment. I love what I do and I'm grateful for this business every day, but that doesn't negate the fact that building a business from the ground up is a massive undertaking and has the potential to lead to serious burnout.

A while back, I told Rachel, "I feel like we burnt ourselves out during the first few years of getting a business off the ground, and I never fully recovered."

My clients tell me a version of the same thing. Whether they've been raising kids for years, putting in long hours to get that promotion, having the life drained out of them at a job they hate, or feeling lost and confused for longer than they care to remember … the threat of burnout is real. And far too many of us are being weighed down by the pressure.

In this updated blog from 2016, I'm sharing the most valuable, restorative thing you can do to relieve burnout.

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