Magazine: Catalysts of the burnout syndrome

Today I am writing about how to speed up burning out… My view is that the risk of physical and mental burnout is encoded in one’s communication. Probably passive communication is the best catalyst of the burnout syndrome. Why? Because it avoids conflicts and in many cases it puts decision-making in the hands of others, which means one has smaller influence on their own life! The smaller the influence one has on their life, the bigger the risk for getting the burnout syndrome is. Are you familiar with the term OMNIPOTENCE? It means ‘having unlimited power or authority’. Ildikó is a very successful businesswoman. After the economic crisis commenced in 2008, instead of going bankrupt like so many other firms in the sector, she got everything right and by 2011 she doubled the turnover of her company. Everything she touched turned into gold. Well, almost everything. She was doing the same in her private life as in her work – dominating everyone, always having the last word – and this had a bad influence on all of her relationships: first friends left her, later her husband divorced her and today not even her children are in touch with Ildikó. When I started to talk about omnipotence to her, she nodded sadly, saying ‘I fell into that trap, yes.’ I think this example shows very well that not only successful doctors, lawyers and politicians can start feeling that they are omnipotent, but also businessmen and businesswomen. Are you successful? Would you like to burn out fast? Omnipotence is the key word…