I look for my serenity

[Note: this post was originally published on Substack August 27, 2024] 

Part 7 of 10 in the series, “How do I launch a business while on my burnout recovery journey?”

It may seem crazy to launch a business after going through burnout. Where does all the energy come from? How do you manage the stress? How do you keep going? This is post #7 of a 10-part series.

My serenity looks like: I’m doing as much as I can about what I have control over and accepting the things I can’t control.

As a burnout survivor in recovery, I have had to learn to let go of worrying and panicking over what I can’t control.

Prior to burning out, being the independent loner that I was, I tried to control all the variables in any situation as much as possible. If I couldn’t control them, then I worried constantly about the impact those things might have on what I was trying to do.

I was in a constant state of anxiety. There was always something to be worried about.

I’d heard the AA prayer of Acceptance many times. There are versions of it all over the Internet. You know the one:

I could tell you what I could control and what I couldn’t. I knew the difference. I just couldn’t let go and accept that there were things I simply could not change.

Acceptance can be a hard pill to swallow.

Now, in my post-burnout learning and growth, I have learned how to accept what I cannot change. I can identify those things and not dwell on them the way I did before. I am still aware of them. However, now I acknowledge them and the impact they could have on my plans and dreams while not allowing them to take up an over-sized space in my mind.

My acceptance came as part of my mindfulness and meditation practices. It has allowed me to focus my precious energy resources (see post #6) on the things I can control. This has given me the ability to learn and do so many things that I would not have been able to do before.

It’s all part of being a lifelong learner and staying in recovery from burnout.