Burnt out and at the end. The burnout.

The literal translation of the term burnout is “being burnt out”. And that says it all: burnout is a state of total physical, emotional and mental exhaustion. Interestingly, the “official” definitions also refer to reduced performance.

Which is true, in burnout you are not “able to perform” at all. But emphasizing this only makes sense if the purpose of recovering from burnout is to restore performance. Which leads us directly and immediately to the core of this article.

To perform or not to perform? That is the question here

We live in a meritocracy, at least that’s one of the buzzwords that comes up again and again when it comes to burnout, stress, demotivation or social issues in general. But what is this meritocracy supposed to be?

And compared to what is it? If we look back a few centuries, we quickly realize that people used to work a lot more, i.e. “achieve”, than they do today. In rural areas in particular, people naturally worked from sunrise to sunset, six days a week, sometimes seven.

And not somewhere in an air-conditioned office, but with a hoe in the field. Where were all the burnouts back then?

If we don’t go back quite so far, perhaps only one or two generations, we still see a significantly higher workload than is normal for most people today. Nevertheless, burnouts seem to be much more common in this day and age and stress is already part of the norm.

It’s obviously not about simply being overworked. Even today, there are people who work incredibly hard all their lives and don’t even come close to burnout. Why are they doing well if too much work is supposed to be a trigger?

Well, work is not the trigger.

There is even the term “boreout”, a kind of burnout caused by boredom. I can tell you a thing or two about it myself: I started my career as a chemical laboratory technician at Stadtwerke München and I had days with just 2-3 hours of effective work. I did the rest of it and looked more or less busy.

That was more stressful than any stress I ever had afterwards. I quit there quite soon, if I had stayed, who knows how my health would have developed.

But what is the core of stress, burnout and boreout? Where is the problem really?

From a shamanic perspective

From a shamanic point of view, we are spiritual beings who incarnate here in the material world. In other words, we create a body to embody ourselves here in this dual world. And we don’t do this just like that, but with the aim of having experiences.

The kind of experience that is only possible in a material world. We certainly do that quite often, but we rarely really remember it.

What we also do not clearly remember is what we want to experience in the current incarnation and also what abilities and dispositions we have brought with us for this.

Ideally, we develop this in our childhood and live life to our full potential as adults. And we live what we came here to do. You guessed it, this case is ideal but rather theoretical.

Because we arrive in a ready-made system to which we first have to adapt. See my article on this: What are soul parts.

Against ourselves

If we have ended up in a construct of behavioral patterns and hidden soul parts that run counter to us and our very own energy, it costs us so much energy that at some point we literally collapse under the weight.

One symptom of such a breakdown is burnout. And if you’ve read this far, you’ll probably realize why restoring our performance can’t be the solution.

After all, it ensures that we continue with the very thing that caused us to collapse. That may well be good for everyone who benefits from our performance. But it’s not good for the person affected. Because sooner or later they will collapse again.

Example from life

Let’s call her Petra. The name is fictitious, but the story behind it is not. Petra is an employee in a corporate group. Middle management, good salary, demanding job.

Her starting point was not ideal. She comes from a working-class family, her father a locksmith and her mother a housewife. Nothing wrong with that, her childhood wasn’t exactly lavish, but she had everything she needed.

From an early age, her parents worked towards her “becoming something”. She should be better off, have to work less and earn more. And so she was guided through school until she graduated.

After that, I did a commercial apprenticeship, which was all I could afford, but still. Much better than the “old trade” with all the drudgery.

Then came the career. It was tempting for her. Suddenly earning a lot of money by her standards. Fourteen monthly salaries, then came the company car and now she flies business class.

This brings with it status and, of course, the opportunity to make a good material living. Sure, it’s a lot of work, but her father worked a lot back then too. For a fraction of the money she earns now.

Then came the collapse. From one day to the next. Dizziness, trembling, fainting, depression, sick note. Completely out of the blue. Although … it wasn’t completely out of the blue, she had always felt that what she was doing wasn’t quite right. But it doesn’t help, a job is a job and she was doing well.

With psychological help and rehab, she got back on her feet and was soon back at work as before. A little more thoughtful perhaps, but just like before.

Then she collapsed again, this time the physical symptoms were alarming. Emergency room, clinic, therapy. Everything started all over again and during the second collapse she began to think about what was fundamentally wrong. Because she had sensed for a long time that something was wrong. She just didn’t want to admit it and there was no alternative. Really not?

And then we worked and started to work out their true nature. We connected them with their very own energy, we worked on very old ancestral issues and on many a “healed” childhood trauma. We worked on beliefs, deep convictions, blind spots, fears and a lot of guilt and shame.

In the end, she realized that she had worked her whole life to play a role that was unconsciously prescribed to her. Mainly by her parents, who of course meant well. She had worked to achieve goals that were not hers. She tried to achieve a status that did not correspond to her nature at all.

And this has led to a perpetual battle against itself. And you can neither win nor lose a fight like that. You can only end it.

She ended it by realizing who she really is and what she wants to do here. She still has a job, but a completely different one in a completely different industry. And for the first time in her life, she has the feeling that she is going her own way. With joy and a good portion of lightness.

So what is to be done? The way out

The only way to really get out of such a situation is to follow your own energy. Living your own energy. And in a way that suits you and your purpose here in this world.

That sounds very vague now, because if you knew what your parts are, what your energy really is, why you’re here, then you wouldn’t have ended up in burnout.

But that is precisely the core of my work. I can see you with all your energy, with all your parts. Especially with those you don’t bring into your life. And I can guide you there, accompany you in making the connection. Because I not only see you, I also see what I have to do to bring you to yourself. Where you couldn’t look before.

I won’t tell you the story about the dog, I’ll take you there myself. So that YOU recognize who you are. This will reveal your true path and once you see it, you can walk it.

In the end, you will bring your energy into life and go your own way. How much work you then have, whether you are an employee or an entrepreneur, whether you earn a lot or a little money or where and how you live will be determined. In any case, it will be your work that corresponds to your energy.

You can’t burn out on your own energy. That is not possible. If you have any questions or recognize yourself, feel free to send me an email without obligation: mail@gerhard-zirkel.com