why wearing too many hats is costing your self
on burnout, the conception of self, and letting your life speak
1 Quote
“Burnout is a state of emptiness, to be sure, but it does not result from giving all I have: it merely reveals the nothingness from which I was trying to give in the first place.” –Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak
1 Reflection
Sometimes when you're in a tough situation at work or volunteer organization or other organized space, people will communicate something like, "Right now, I'm wearing the __________ hat, not the ___________ one."
Maybe it's something you've felt like you've had to do to, if it's giving tough-to-swallow information to someone or trying to get someone to do something they're reluctant to accept. Maybe you feel like it's helpful to categorize different hats to better manage your time and stress: "this is when I'll focus on parenting and this is when I'll focus on my partner and this is when I'll focus on work."
Google "wearing many hats" and "burnout" and you'll find many articles telling you how to manage workload with advice like delegating administrative tasks, being clear about which hat you're wearing, or shifting mindset to see how it's good to be flexible and adaptable.
Despite this, research shows that burnout remains a top reason people are leaving their employer and that mental weariness, emotional exhaustion, and even physical fatigue are all on the rise.
In the rest of this article, I explore why I think the problem may not be contained to only the amount of work from many hats, but a strain on our very selfhood.
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