Don't Burn Out
“To burn out” is to work too hard and become stressed and unable to continue.
How often do you feel like our friend Sylvester the Cat below?
Some people are more prone to this feeling than others, but speaking for myself, I feel as though I’m always one blunder away from spiralling down into one of these moods.
As with a lot of the things I talk about, this applies to learning English but (I think) wider topics in life too. Whether it’s your job, studies, relationships or even just keeping on top of the household chores, we should also practice kindness to ourselves.
Talking specifically about learning English, it’s easy to compare ourselves to others who can study for hours a day or who seem to improve at super-fast speeds, but we should always be prioritising health over anything else, shouldn’t we?
Many of you are probably juggling your studies with family and friend time, and jobs too.
What to do?
It’s important we make time for ourselves to do what we enjoy.
Remember that life is short.
It’s great to work hard and reach our goals (becoming fluent, moving to another country, getting a new job, starting a business, etc.) but this shouldn’t be at the expense of our health.
When you feel your body beginning to tense up, your jaw is tight and your forehead is scrunched up, take a deep breath and take a look at the bigger picture. Will this be a problem 1 year from now? Is it worth stressing out about?
I don’t think I’m sharing anything new, but we all need to be reminded of this sometimes.
This is a friendly reminder to: take a break, have some deep and relaxing breathes, go for a walk, schedule some ‘me time’ and do something you love with no distractions… How can you make this week brilliant?
As a side benefit, remember the mind learns better when you’re not looking like Sylvester the Cat in the GIF above. You’ll pick up new things more easily when you can be calm and take breaks.
When was the last time you took a break?
Vocabulary
- To burn out – To become stressed from overworking
I was burnt out from working all week. - Prone to – Likely to suffer from something
Bikes left outside are prone to rust. - Blunder – Mistake
I made an embarrassing blunder today. - Spiral (down) – To get worse and worse (like water going down a drain in a spiral shape)
I spiralled (down) into depression. It’s hard to climb back out once you’re there. - To keep on top of something – To stay up-to-date with work and tasks
I am good at keeping on top of the cleaning because my house is so small.
