“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest and motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place. (helpguide)
I’ve come to realize that many people don’t know when they’re tired or experiencing burnout. I am more aware now because I was one such individual who was always on the go but grew dangerously tired with each passing day. Just recently, I went through one of the scariest periods since this pandemic has shaken the world. I started out with optimism, drive, and passion to continue on my 2020 mission but around late July into early August my mental health deteriorated. I was exhausted and didn’t realize it. It wasn’t until I went to God that I was given language for what I was experiencing – burnout.
I cried out to God saying, “God, I am tired. I really need to rest.” In this state of burnout, I lost interest in any and every thing, I was too tired to be a wife, too tired to simply exist. My brain was exhausted and I couldn’t seem to escape the pain on my own so I cried out to the one who could.
No matter how talented, anointed, and on fire, for God, you are you need to rest. I think that sometimes we experience the power of God so strongly that we forget that we are human. For years I viewed my life as a never-ending task list. Accomplish one task and move on to the next. There’s always something else to do. Rest to me felt like missing out or losing time so I made no time for it.
I want to encourage you in these turbulent times – and even when we come out of this season – to rest. It’s okay to pause, to say no, to not show up, and to breathe. No, you are not missing out or losing time. God knows all that you need to do and has factored in your time to rest. Take it so you can return to being fully functional and accessible. Rest, your future depends on it.
Amoy is intent on fulfilling God’s will and purpose for her life. She is a celebrity publicist, a proud Jamaican, a writer, an international speaker, a media practitioner and a published author. She loves all things luxury and is on a mission to become one of the wealthiest women from her island and in the world. 40 under 40, is that you?