2009年的我，處在職業(yè)生涯的巔峰。當(dāng)時(shí)我在瑪莎?斯圖爾特生活全媒體公司（Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia）擔(dān)任總經(jīng)理，這是個(gè)令人激動(dòng)的崗位。當(dāng)時(shí)，我可能正在“實(shí)現(xiàn)我的夢(mèng)想”，為數(shù)百萬人提供健康相關(guān)的解答和信息。聽起來很棒吧？實(shí)際上并非如此。

每周7天，每天24小時(shí)，我需要隨時(shí)待命，幾乎沒有時(shí)間休息。我感覺周圍的事物已經(jīng)開始脫離控制。盡管我的專業(yè)就是保健和健康生活，但我每天說教的事情自己卻無法做到，我開始覺得精疲力竭了。

從賣保險(xiǎn)到接聽客戶來電，任何工作都可能耗盡你的樂觀情緒和目標(biāo)感。如果你已經(jīng)感覺到自己對(duì)工作有些精疲力竭（或是你已經(jīng)響起了五級(jí)火警），就開始立刻著手解決這個(gè)問題吧。

以下四個(gè)特征昭示著你即將精疲力竭，這里提供了讓你在徹底崩潰前照顧好自己的方法。當(dāng)我按照這些步驟，開始踐行自己說教的那些事情時(shí)，就為自己鋪設(shè)了一條全新的職業(yè)道路，它指引著我建立了自己的公司。

用正能量驅(qū)散負(fù)面情緒

工作中不可能每天都充滿陽光和彩虹，如果我們陷入了負(fù)面情緒，它就可能困擾我們，最終讓我們精疲力竭。好消息是我們可以抗拒這種趨勢(shì)。試圖有意識(shí)地在每天注入更多正能量。與其坐在桌前盯著屏幕，不如出門散步吃午餐。每天找出三件美好的事物——把它們寫下，或是在晚餐時(shí)與配偶、朋友或家人分享，培養(yǎng)自己的感激之情。在晚餐后，別急著回去回復(fù)郵件，多花一點(diǎn)時(shí)間與你的配偶或孩子們待在一起。每天都做到這些，或是其他能調(diào)動(dòng)你情緒的小舉動(dòng)，你對(duì)工作的感覺會(huì)徹底不一樣。

扼殺沮喪之情

當(dāng)你缺乏完成手頭任務(wù)的工具或資源時(shí)，你會(huì)感到沮喪。當(dāng)你感覺別人在利用你，或你的權(quán)利受到侵犯時(shí)，你會(huì)感到生氣。這種反應(yīng)更容易讓你精疲力竭，卻對(duì)你解決當(dāng)下發(fā)生的問題沒有什么幫助。

下一次當(dāng)你感覺到沮喪正在分散你的注意力時(shí)，停下來認(rèn)真想想。是什么導(dǎo)致了這種感覺？是因?yàn)轫?xiàng)目無法按期完成，你擔(dān)心要被炒魷魚？或是你沒有所需的資源？這些想法會(huì)影響你的情緒。當(dāng)你抓住這種想法，找到它的源頭，你就能確認(rèn)和處理它，在它搞砸你的一天之前扼殺它。

光睡覺不能讓你徹底休息

你連續(xù)按掉了六次鬧鐘。你的生活看起來平淡而沒有生氣。你感到疲倦，無力從床上爬起。你曾經(jīng)滿懷熱情的那些事，無論是工作、孩子還是愛好，都不再喚起你的熱情。這就是精疲力竭的特征之一，你必須在生活真的變得死氣沉沉之前阻止這一趨勢(shì)。

睡眠很重要。注意保證每晚六至八小時(shí)的睡眠，拒絕那些經(jīng)常熬夜來推動(dòng)項(xiàng)目進(jìn)度的人。然而，光睡覺是不夠的。你需要時(shí)間讓思想和心靈恢復(fù)活力。無論是每天花幾分鐘冥思，參加瑜伽課，還是做飯，都能起到效果。重新想想什么才是最重要的，避開混亂和干擾，并抽出時(shí)間來關(guān)注這個(gè)最重要的事物，那就是你自己。

下一次，如果精疲力竭的感覺再次來襲，按照你喜歡的方式克服它，利用本文中提供的部分建議。因?yàn)樽屛覀兠鎸?duì)現(xiàn)實(shí)，沒有人想當(dāng)?shù)匕迳系膲m埃。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：嚴(yán)匡正

Back in 2009, I was at the height of my career, working in an exciting position as managing director of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. I was supposedly ‘living my dream,’ helping millions of people with answers and information about wellness. Sounds great, right? Well, not quite.

I was going 24/7 with little to no time to recharge, and I was feeling things around me beginning to spin out of control. Despite my expertise on wellness and healthy living, I couldn’t seem to practice what I was preaching and was starting to burnout.

Any job, from selling insurance to answering customer calls, can drain you of your optimism and sense of purpose. If you have a nagging feeling that you’re burning out at your job (or if you’re already a five-alarm fire), start addressing the problem now.

Here are four tell-tale signs you’re approaching burn out, and strategies to take care of yourself before the walls come down. When I followed these steps —and started practicing what I was preaching — I paved an entirely new career path for myself, which led me to start my own company.

Counter the bad stuff with the good

At work, each day can’t be filled with sunshine and rainbows, but if we’re stuck in the negative, it can start to work against us and eventually lead to burn out. The good news is that we can fight against our tendencies. Try consciously injecting more positivity into your day. Go for a walk at lunch instead of sitting and staring at the screen. Start practicing gratitude by finding three good things about your day—write them down or share them at dinner with your partner, friends or family. Spend a little more quality time with your partner or kids before rushing off to reply to emails after dinner. Make these, or any small acts that lift your mood, part of every single day and you’ll start to feel different inside and out.

Map your frustrations.

When you don’t have the tools or resources you need to complete the task at hand, you’re going to feel frustrated. And when you feel that people are taking advantage of you or your rights have been violated, you feel angry. The reaction may have more to do with burnout and less with what’s actually happening in the moment.

Next time you feel frustration eroding your focus, stop and get a gut read. What caused this feeling? Was it an overdue project that you fear will put you on the chopping block? Or the idea that you don’t have the resources you need? Emotions are triggered by thoughts. When you can nail that thought and map its origin, you can acknowledge and address the feeling and nip it before it derails your day.

Don’t just sleep — rest.

You hit the snooze button six times. Your days seem flat and airless. You’re tired and can’t fathom dragging yourself out of bed. The very thing you’re passionate about—whether it’s your work, kids, or hobby —ceases to stir you. This is the hallmark of burnout behavior, and you must counter it before your life actually becomes as uninspired as you feel.

Sleep is vital. Be vigilant about getting six to eight hours a night and say no to those frequent all nighters to push projects over the line. However, sleep alone is not enough. You need time to restore your mind and heart. Whether it’s meditating for a few minutes each day, taking a yoga class, or cooking a meal. Reconnect to what matters most, retreat from the chaos and distractions, and take time for what matters most: you.

The next time you’re starting to notice the feelings of burn out creeping in, do yourself a favor by getting ahead of it and utilizing some of these tips. Because let’s face it, no one wants to be ashes on the floor.