Fighting Burnout

When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. (Matt. 8:18)

Merriam Webster’s defines burnout as “exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration.” In January 2022, the American Psychological Association (APA) reported that burnout and stress were at all-time highs across all professions, and statistics show that just 51 percent of small businesses make it past five years.

None of these statistics are in my favor as a small business owner coming out of the pandemic. I’ve run Prestige Prose for almost eight years now. The good news is, my business has survived the pandemic while many others have not. Continue reading “Fighting Burnout”

A Slower Pace

Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (Gen 2:3)

Before the pandemic, life had sped up to a frenetic pace that I couldn’t maintain. (This led to my word of the year, renew which I’ve written about several times.) When someone would ask how I was doing, my answer was good but busy. This was the case so often that I found myself trying to find ways to answer without using the word “busy,” but in all honesty, I was busy, so I struggled to come up with another word that summarized my life.

When I returned the question, the answer was always the same. Everyone was always busy. We wore busyness like a badge of honor.

Between work, volunteering, and my social activities, I had filled every last moment in my schedule. All good things, to be sure, but too many good things is still too many. Continue reading “A Slower Pace”