Are you a workaholic? Here's why you need to know when to stop
| Aug 2, 2019, 11:43 IST
The term workaholic has almost become synonymous with the term burnout. For those uninitiated, burnout refers to when a person undergoes extreme exertion and exhaustion due to overusing their energy. In today's time and age with the amount of competition and demands that are expected from a person, it's become a common phenomenon for people to get burnt out easily. Amanpreet Nagpal, counselling psychologist and Motivational Coach opened up about three main categories under which burnout can be classified.
Workaholics: Workaholics as the name suggests tend to be fixated on their work. For them, their work becomes their identity so when they have nothing to do they become restless and look for deeper meaning in their life. What they don't understand is that they have an identity outside of work and the sooner they realise that life for them exists outside of work as well, the sooner they'll be able to keep their mental health in check too. But since the workaholic attitude has mostly been rewarding for them they tend to continue on this path even though eventually they face burnout.
People pleasers: More often than not a lot of people feel the need to please other people so that they can feel validated about themselves. What happens with these people is that they don't realise that no matter how much they try, they cannot seek validation from others, that is something that must come from within. Despite trying to please other people these people pleasers may or may not receive the results they were hoping for which only results in a waste of their efforts. Because of this, they have to constantly be on their toes and ultimately this can trigger burnout.
Perfectionist: As the term suggests, these people keep pushing themselves to become the most perfect version of themselves and eventually that can take a toll on them. They keep looking for perfectionism in their work and their life and keep evaluating themselves accordingly. They also look for criticism from outside. Since they achieve most of their milestones with ease, they tend to overuse their skills to achieve perfectionism but instead, all they end up with is burnout.
This just goes to prove that whatever one does, one should remember that it needs to be done in moderation. It is good to be focused on work but one also needs to remember that they have an identity outside of work. Similarly, it's good to be on good terms with people but trying to go the extra mile in hopes that something extraordinary will happen is not something a person should really focus on. And while one must strive for perfectionism, one must also remember that at the end of the day we're all human and it's okay to make errors, as long as one learns from them. Stay tuned for more updates.
Workaholics: Workaholics as the name suggests tend to be fixated on their work. For them, their work becomes their identity so when they have nothing to do they become restless and look for deeper meaning in their life. What they don't understand is that they have an identity outside of work and the sooner they realise that life for them exists outside of work as well, the sooner they'll be able to keep their mental health in check too. But since the workaholic attitude has mostly been rewarding for them they tend to continue on this path even though eventually they face burnout.
People pleasers: More often than not a lot of people feel the need to please other people so that they can feel validated about themselves. What happens with these people is that they don't realise that no matter how much they try, they cannot seek validation from others, that is something that must come from within. Despite trying to please other people these people pleasers may or may not receive the results they were hoping for which only results in a waste of their efforts. Because of this, they have to constantly be on their toes and ultimately this can trigger burnout.
Perfectionist: As the term suggests, these people keep pushing themselves to become the most perfect version of themselves and eventually that can take a toll on them. They keep looking for perfectionism in their work and their life and keep evaluating themselves accordingly. They also look for criticism from outside. Since they achieve most of their milestones with ease, they tend to overuse their skills to achieve perfectionism but instead, all they end up with is burnout.
This just goes to prove that whatever one does, one should remember that it needs to be done in moderation. It is good to be focused on work but one also needs to remember that they have an identity outside of work. Similarly, it's good to be on good terms with people but trying to go the extra mile in hopes that something extraordinary will happen is not something a person should really focus on. And while one must strive for perfectionism, one must also remember that at the end of the day we're all human and it's okay to make errors, as long as one learns from them. Stay tuned for more updates.
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