Feelings of dread about work? The 8 steps I took to beat burnout as a physical therapist.

Ever found yourself in a job where the mere thought of Monday mornings sends shivers down your spine? It's more than the typical reluctance to bid adieu to the weekend – it's a unique dread that intensifies every Sunday around noon, casting a cloud of anxiety. As you contemplate the upcoming week, the anticipation builds, and when Monday finally arrives, it becomes a relentless journey of survival, with each hour passing like a small victory until the clock strikes 5 pm. If this scenario sounds familiar, rest assured, I've been there too.

In 2016, I proudly graduated from physical therapy school, eagerly embarking on a career I had long considered my "dream job" and "calling." However, the initial months left me thoroughly disillusioned. Work became a source of dread, and what compounded the situation was my reluctance to discuss it openly due to overwhelming guilt and shame. How could I not love the job I had deemed my calling? Wasn't I fortunate to have the opportunity to attend PT school (ignoring the substantial debt)? Yet, I found myself at a crossroads, realizing that the career I had just begun was not my true “calling”.

Feeling trapped and burnt out in a profession I had believed to be my life's purpose, I couldn't fathom enduring it day in and day out until retirement at 65. I recognized the need for a plan to liberate myself from a career that, for so long, I thought held all the answers. Traditional advice like "take time for self-care" or "try yoga and journaling" didn't resonate with the depth of my burnout (not to discredit these suggestions, but they just weren't the solution for my situation).

Embarking on a journey of profound self-reflection, I decided that I needed to break free from the confines of a career that left me feeling trapped. This marked the beginning of my journey to overcome burnout, attain financial independence, and regain control over my professional life. In this blog post, I share the eight transformative steps I undertook to conquer burnout and pave the way for a more fulfilling and empowered career. Join me on this exploration of self-discovery and actionable strategies that can guide you towards beating burnout, reclaiming your passion, and steering your professional journey in a direction aligned with your authentic self.

Check out the roadmap for where we’re going in this blog post. These are the 8 steps to beating burnout that I took. Keep reading for a look into how I followed these steps and beat burnout!

1. Honest Conversations: Start by being honest with yourself and those around you about your feelings toward your career. Despite initial discomfort, transparency fosters authentic connections and creates a supportive community.
2. Decision-Making: Assess your situation and make a conscious decision—either accept the status quo or explore alternative paths. The choice between enduring dissatisfaction or seeking fulfillment marks the beginning of your commitment to personal and professional growth.
3. Strategic Shifts: Evaluate your work environment, explore new settings, and consider adjustments to your income strategy. Whether through changing settings, boosting income, or setting boundaries, strategic shifts can pave the way for a more fulfilling professional life.
4. Financial Independence: Delve into financial education and explore opportunities for passive income. Financial independence not only provides a safety net but also opens avenues for a more balanced and purpose-driven career. Interested in learning more? Grab my free Investing Cheat sheet here. 
5. Reassessing Career Perspectives: Challenge the conventional notion of a job as a "calling." Embrace the idea that a job can be just a job, allowing you to excel without it consuming your entire identity.
6. Detaching Self-Worth: For those who tightly link self-worth to achievements, consider detaching your identity from your career. Understand that your value extends beyond professional accomplishments, marking the first step toward genuine self-discovery.
7. Cultivating Interests Outside of Work: Break free from the professional bubble and intentionally develop hobbies and interests that bring joy for the sake of enjoyment. Building a supportive community and nurturing personal interests are vital for achieving a well-rounded and fulfilling life.
8. Entrepreneurial Mindset: Cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset, investing in continuous self-improvement and exploring creative avenues for income generation. This shift from an employee to a creator mindset can lead to innovative and fulfilling career paths.

1. Honest conversations.

I was honest with myself (and with others) about how I felt about my career, and I started talking about it, even though I felt guilt and shame.

Embracing honesty about my feelings towards my career was a pivotal step in my journey. Initially, opening up about it stirred feelings of guilt and shame, as if I were betraying the expectations I had set for myself and those others had for me. However, I recognized the importance of transparency, not just for my own well-being but also to create an authentic dialogue. Sharing my experiences, doubts, and aspirations, even when accompanied by discomfort, allowed me to connect with others on a deeper level.

What astonished me was the realization that many individuals around me were navigating similar feelings. By initiating conversations about the challenges and uncertainties I faced in my career, I inadvertently created a space for others to share their stories. It was a profound revelation that my struggles were not isolated; they resonated with others who, like me, had been grappling with similar thoughts and emotions. This shared understanding fostered a sense of community and support, dispelling the isolation that often accompanies professional dissatisfaction. The collective strength that emerged from these conversations played a crucial role in my ability to navigate change and pursue a path that aligned more closely with my authentic self.

2. Decision-Making 

I made a decision: get over it or get out.

Facing the crossroads of my career dissatisfaction, I confronted a critical decision: either accept the status quo and endure the unhappiness until retirement or muster the courage to explore alternative paths. The reality of my situation became evident—I could either resign myself to the discontentment, allowing it to pervade my professional life until the end of my working years, or I could proactively seek a different trajectory.

The first option, though seemingly the easier route, was laden with the prospect of prolonged dissatisfaction and a compromised quality of life. Acknowledging this, I recognized the importance of my overall well-being and the impact my career had on my mental and emotional state. The second option required a leap into the unknown, a departure from the comfort of familiarity, and a legitimate effort to redefine my relationship with work.

Ultimately, the decision boiled down to a simple yet profound choice: to persist in a state of discontent or to embark on a journey of self-discovery, seeking fulfillment and purpose beyond the confines of my current job. I chose the latter.  This pivotal moment marked the beginning of my commitment to personal and professional growth, prompting me to explore alternative avenues that aligned more closely with my passions and aspirations.

3. Strategic Shifts

I switched settings, increased my income, and started saying no at work.

 In my early days as an outpatient therapist, the daily grind had me on the brink of burnout—no lunch breaks, taking work home, insultingly low pay, and the dread of Mondays lingering like a perpetual cloud.  Ready for change, I took a bold step into travel therapy, diving headfirst into an acute hospital setting for my first contract. It was a leap into the unknown, but surprisingly, it clicked. 

Switching settings from outpatient to acute care proved to be a game-changer, alleviating work-related stress and providing a healthier work-life balance, complete with an actual lunch break and a work-free zone after clocking out. Beyond the personal benefits, this move into travel therapy literally doubled my income. Suddenly, I was not just working for a paycheck but using my work to tackle debt, build savings, and chase financial goals. Witnessing tangible progress broke the monotony of the daily grind, offering a newfound sense of purpose and a clear path toward financial freedom. I could see a light at the end of the tunnel.

4. Financial Independence

I aggressively learned about and pursued financial independence and setup passive income streams.

If you want to work less, it helps to have some money in your corner working for you. Determined to achieve financial independence and work on my terms, I delved into the world of investing, saving, debt strategies, and passive income. It was a pivotal step in realizing my desired lifestyle. I devoured information on effective money management and how to leverage money for financial growth. Prior to this, my relentless work routine yielded little, leaving me with a hefty student loan burden and no savings—an unsatisfying grind.

Fueling my transformation, I embraced a role as a travel therapist, literally doubling my income. Discovering the Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) concept, I crunched numbers to set a goal for early retirement. The additional income became a catalyst, enabling me to aggressively tackle debt, establish an emergency fund, and venture into stock market and real estate investments for passive income. Once I started to see my net worth grow from my hard work, I at least knew I was moving in some kind of direction. 

As my net worth and financial independence grew, something really surprising happened: the weight of feeling trapped in my career started to lift, reducing burnout, and I started to enjoy my career more and more. The dual benefit unfolded: advancing towards financial independence while rekindling my passion for my career. The less dependent I became on my job, the more I started to love my job. 

After seven years as a full-time PT (including a year as a travel PT), I was financially in a position conducive to transitioning to part-time work (20 hours weekly, with flexibility to work more). The impact was profound—truly a game-changer.

Interested in learning more about how to make your money work for you? Grab my free Investing Cheat sheet here. 

5. Reassessing Career Perspectives

I decided my job was just a job, not a calling.

Let's talk about the myth of a career being a divine calling. Spoiler alert: it's a scam. The notion that a specific job defines your life's purpose is a concept ingrained in us from an early age. I vividly recall taking a career aptitude test in 5th grade, and voila, healthcare was declared my "calling." Little did the quiz know, I was probably selecting answers to please someone else. But hey, the scam was set.

The pressure of living up to this supposed calling overwhelmed me. Striving for perfection in a field of exceptional professionals became exhausting. So, I made a conscious decision to view my job as just that—a job. No more unpaid overtime, no more stressing after hours, and certainly no more pretending I'd do it for free. I still stay updated with education, read research, and aim to be an excellent therapist, minus the existential crisis. It turns out you can excel at your job without it consuming your entire identity.

6. Detaching Self-Worth

I detached my self worth from my career.

Woof: this one is for all of my "high achievers" in the room.  This aspect of my journey was undeniably one of the toughest to navigate. As someone who grew up wearing the badge of a "smart kid," I tightly linked my sense of self-worth to academic achievements. The pursuit of higher education, culminating in a doctorate degree, showered me with feelings of validation, utility, and acceptance. This narrative became so ingrained that, for the initial years of my career, my self-worth revolved predominantly around being a physical therapist. When the realization hit that I wasn't finding fulfillment in this role, a sense of worthlessness crept in. I found myself at a crossroads, questioning my identity and purpose. Through profound soul-searching, therapy sessions, and the passage of time, I successfully untangled my self-worth from my career. It was transformative work, marking the first time I truly grasped that my value extends far beyond the checkboxes on my resume.

7. Cultivating Interests Outside of Work

I intentionally worked on developing my interests outside of work.

For a long time, my entire world revolved around either becoming or being a physical therapist. From my college years through physical therapy school, nearly all my free moments were, in some way, consumed by studying, preparing, or enhancing my resume for my career. Reading for leisure took a backseat to perusing articles and textbooks. Every spare moment was devoted to volunteering or networking, aimed at bolstering my resume for securing the ideal residency or internship. Consequently, by the time I entered the workforce, I found myself devoid of hobbies or personal interests that brought me joy simply for the sake of enjoyment. It was a challenging realization, especially when acknowledging that my job wasn't fulfilling me with the energy I had hoped for.

In a deliberate effort to cultivate a well-rounded and fulfilling life, I invested time and energy into nurturing interests and building a supportive community beyond the confines of my professional sphere. Engaging in activities like reading, hiking, paddle-boarding, and surfing became not just hobbies but vital outlets for personal growth and relaxation. Additionally, I recognized the profound impact of community on overall well-being. To enhance my social connections, I started a book club, joined a small gym, and started going to pottery classes, fostering meaningful discussions and connections with like-minded individuals. The commitment to nurturing relationships with friends and family became a cornerstone of my life, providing emotional support and balance. Exploring new horizons through travel added another dimension to my personal development, broadening my perspectives and enriching my life outside the demands of the workplace. This intentional focus on personal interests and community became instrumental in my journey toward a more balanced and fulfilling lifestyle.

8. Entrepreneurial Mindset 

I developed an entrepreneurial mindset.

Embracing an entrepreneurial mindset became a pivotal aspect of my personal and professional growth. Recognizing the importance of continual self-investment, I embarked on a journey of learning, exploring various avenues to generate passive income, such as real estate and diversified investments. This commitment to ongoing education empowered me with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the world of entrepreneurship confidently. 

Shifting my focus from a conventional employee mindset to a more creative one, I set a clear goal for myself – to create more than I consume. This shift ignited a renewed sense of creativity and innovation, encouraging me to explore unconventional and innovative ways to generate income. By fostering an entrepreneurial spirit, I not only diversified my income streams but also opened exciting doors to new opportunities, allowing me to take control of my financial destiny and pursue a more fulfilling and purpose-driven career path.

So there you have it—my journey through burnout and the eight game-changing steps I took to turn things around. I'm not claiming it's a one-size-fits-all solution, but hey, if you're feeling the Monday dread or stuck in a job that's more soul-sucking than satisfying, it might just resonate.

Now, it's your turn. Are you ready to break free from the burnout cycle? Dive into these steps, try them on for size, and let's see if we can't kick that Monday anxiety to the curb. Your journey to a more fulfilling career starts with that first step. Let's do this together! 

As you contemplate these steps, remember that your journey is unique, and each transformative stride you take brings you closer to a career that aligns with your authentic self. Let's continue this exploration of self-discovery and actionable strategies together. Want more insights and guidance on beating burnout, reclaiming passion, and crafting a professional journey that resonates with your deepest aspirations? Check these out!

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