Positive Self Improvement and Motivation

The admonition, "do not judge" has been taken to ridiculous lengths in modern life. Even the most absurd, inappropriate, or self-serving behavior rates a PASS by those determined not to criticize.

Were all the poorer for it, since relevant nuances of thought and behavior go determinedly unnoticed.

It sounds noble and open-minded to declare, "I wont judge." The statement implies: I don't think I'm better than you. My behavior isn't any different than yours. It further implies external standards don't apply. All words and deeds are equal.

Refusing to judge has become the unchallenged and worthy (see, thats a "judgment" word) objective. A statement of fact (even if totally true) that sounds the least bit judgmental brings instant rebuke from all directions, "Don't judge!"

That phrase defines our culture - with everyone busily not judging... or noticing... or standing up for any notion that could be construed as "better," or "higher," or "good for the world."

The reasoning goes like this: To judge someone else is bad (oops, one of those darned judgment words, though its usually permitted in this case).

So I refuse to do it.

Instead, I must do the opposite - which is to avoid judging.

So when I do that I'm good and fair (more of those darned words).

The problem is, thats a simplistic example of either-or thinking - judge versus not judge - choosing between opposites. Either one is a verb - something one does. To attempt to do both (avoiding either one) sounds less judgmental, but leaves one paralyzed.

The phrase, "do not judge" has been totally misunderstood and misapplied. Its not about doing something (or not). It refers to resisting the urge to judge (or not), so you can be free to try something entirely different. It refers to a place within yourself where judging isn't possible.

Go there. Disengage momentarily from trying to change or fix things. Suspend your preferences. Appreciate whats unfolding, without the need to understand it. Theres nothing needs doing. Peace reigns.

See, its a place within - an awareness, a place of clarity. And its name is DO NOT JUDGE. Whatever makes you want to criticize or "fix" yourself or anyone else is a reminder to go there.

We almost all think we are masters of our own fate. While it is true that we all make our own choices there are many things that influence what we choose. Ask yourself: Why do some people choose professions that help only themselves while others of us choose professions that help those in need.

Health and wellness professionals all share the desire to help others. Our work is commendable and very important, but why do we choose the profession were in.

Professionals in the caring jobs share some unique qualities. Were almost always creative, sensitive and nurturing. We also almost all share a willingness help others in every way possible and suffer pangs of guilt if we say no. Our willingness to help sometimes comes with a price. It leaves us vulnerable to burn out.

some clients can be draining to even the most enthusiastic wellness professional.

Burnout is often the result of a professional feeling overwhelmed with his or her job responsibilities. Lets face it caring for others can be a burden. Even if you love your job facing unmotivated, clients can be draining to even the most enthusiastic wellness professional. Add to this any inside pressure from trying to make a decent living, dealing with negative attitudes of coworkers or pressure with sales commissions and you're on the road to feeling more negative yourself.

Caregivers tend to burn out more quickly than others because we typically put the needs of those around us first. By the time we are through dealing with the issues of our clients, families and friends we have little left for ourselves.

So how do you deal effectively with those clients who seem to have a seek out and destroy personality Simple, you learn to develop your own repair and replenish skills now and make them an important part of your everyday routine.

Make it a point to be more aware of your surroundings. Try to notice the little things that bring joy to your life and take a moment to reflect on them.

Learn to say no - not all the time but some time. When someone asks for another piece of your time, a little more of your energy, or is looking for you to commit to their newest project, take the time to know if its the right choice for you. Make it your personal policy to never give an answer that you haven't had at least 24 hours to think about theres much to be said for the adage of let me sleep on it.

Nurture yourself with a trip to the gym, a visit to a day SPA, tickets to your favorite play or concert. Even a leisurely walk can be a rejuvenating gift.

Talk, talk and then talk some more. Find peer professionals that share similar values and goals and talk about work. Some think its taboo to talk about work on your days off but in reality it is important to be able to share your feelings and frustration with someone who understands how you feel and their feedback can be very helpful.

Vacations aren't just what other people do. You earn the time too. Take your vacation time all together or in shorter bursts. What ever works for you is fine just take those days and forget about work for awhile.

Sometimes a nurturing personality can open the door for our own wellness to suffer and it is up to each person to find the tools that help to keep them on track and healthy. By learning to say no, nurturing yourself, becoming more aware of your surroundings, talking to a trusted peer and taking a break when you can, you'll be able to find a healthy balance in your professional and personal life leading to greater business success and satisfaction.

Any time of year is a good time to set goals and start working towards them. However there are certain times of year when it feels very natural to set goals. One of these times is the New Year, and another is Back to School time.

What would you love to have achieved by December What would you feel really proud of accomplishing As students head Back to School to achieve their academic goals, we can take inspiration from them and apply it to our goals.

When we begin to see advertisements for Back to School and children get ready for the new school year, it is a great time to set goals for ourselves too. However, our goals can be related to any aspect of our lives, and not just limited academic goals.

When we think of going Back to School we picture fall colors and cooler weather. There is a ritual of going shopping for new supplies and setting off on the first day dressed in a new outfit. There is also an element of optimism and enthusiasm, ready to embrace a new and exciting challenge of the school year. So what can we learn from students who are heading Back to School this fall

Resources

When students go Back to School they are surrounded by many different resources. These include tools such as new books, pens and pencils, clothes, etceteras. Although these tools have practical uses, they also make an important impression on the subconscious mind by providing strong motivations such as confidence and courage at a time that is generally filled with apprehension.

Students are also surrounded by many types of people resources. They have friends at school who share common interests and who are working towards common goals. They have access to teachers, librarians, counselors, etceteras who impart their wisdom and motivate and guide them to learn new information and skills.

In addition, in order for students to be successful in achieving their academic pursuits, they also need to master the resource of time management. They need to make effective use of their time at school, and then they need to have the self-discipline to manage their time at home to do homework and prepare for the next day.

Therefore, no matter what goals you would like to achieve, you need to think about which specific resources you would need (i.e. what tools do you need, which people would help the most, where will your time come from, etc.). For example, if you wanted to get fit, then your tools might be a new gym outfit complete with cross-training sneakers to motivate yourself to go. Your people resources might be the trainers at the gym and your friends who share common fitness goals. Finally you would need to set aside time each day to attend the gym, to pack and repack your gym bag etc.

Structure

Going Back to School also provides structure. After the freewheeling nature of summer vacation, structure can seem to be a very unwelcome thing. Even adults often think they dislike structure, and prefer to be spontaneous. However, having structure in place is a very valuable mechanism to facilitate the achievement of your goals.

Structure provides a framework so that you can do your best work effortlessly. If you decide your goal is to get fit, then structuring your workouts would be beneficial. You would need to schedule when you would attend the gym, and exactly what exercises you would be doing at each workout session.

Students have their time automatically structured. Their day-to-day time is structured with class schedules, and the exams that determine whether or not they have achieved their academic goals are structured by major holidays. The first such major holiday is in December, which gives them approximately 12 weeks to work towards their goals.

Twelve weeks is also a perfect length of time for you to work towards your goals; long enough to see results, yet short enough not to feel overwhelmed. Plus, if you are feeling melancholy that the summer is over, working towards a goal can direct that sad feeling into positive energy.

New Leaf

When children go Back to School there is a feeling of newness and excitement in the air. It does not matter what happened last year; this year is a clean slate or a new leaf. Examples of the new leaf mentality might be: homework will be done the night its set, rather than the night before its due; library books will be returned on time, etceteras. Why not take this mind-set and apply it to your goals It does not matter that past attempts to get fit were not successful, this time you WILL succeed.

So get ready to apply the Back to School mind-set. Write down the goal(s) that you would like to achieve by December. Then determine the resources you need. Ensure you have the structure in place, and then turn a new leaf and jump right in!

Do you have a goal A focus in life Have you invested a great deal of time, effort, money to achieve and yet feel you haven't made it yet For all your effort do you still feel that there is something missing in your life It is obviously very important to set goals in your life. It gives you a focus a way forward a mechanism for making decisions when faced with a number of options. However, it can also be a prison cell.

How can making goals and having a focus be a prison cell we hear you ask. It becomes a prison cell when you create goals based on your past experiences. You look back at your skills and capabilities and then decide what you ought to focus on. In other words you set the future on the past. It creates the illusion that you are going forward when all the time you are stuck within the boundary of your past capabilities. Its like driving your car by looking in the rear view mirror all the time. You have a great vision of what happened in the past but haven't a clue about what is coming in front of you. The point is: whatever happened in the past is not a true indication of your potential.

As Alan Cohen stated: "To grow, you must be willing to let your present and future be totally unlike your past. Your history is not your destiny."

In other words if you continue to do what you have always done then you can only expect to get what you've always got. If you constantly focus on the past, the negative or on what is missing in your life you have no alternative but to create limited goals and focus. You are back in that prison cell again.

You need to break the cycle. How do you do it You change your thinking.

To give yourself the chance of changing your thinking. A chance to create the life you want. A chance to create a focus and goals that you want to achieve. Start by answering the following questions. They are not easy, but they will enable you, in time, to become very focussed.

Where are you now Where are you in life

Describe your current situation.

What are your priorities in life

How important are your close friends and relations to you

What influence do you have on your partners life How do they influence you Do you like this

Do you like where your life is going

Where do you want to go

What is success to you When you are on your death bed looking back at your life what would you like to think your life was about

Visit the questions often until you feel you really understand where you are now and where you want to go. How you get there will become obvious as you progress. Don't rush, you have plenty of time. Keep focussed inside, on yourself. Think of yourself as opening a bank account of the self. The more time you put in, the more credit appears on the bank account and therefore in time the more is available for withdrawal.

Now the crucial question:

What holds you back What stops you going for what you want to achieve in your life

It is not enough just to create a focus and a plan. To understand where you are now and where you want to go. To change something you have to DO SOMETHING. Put your plans into action. Until you have put your plan into action, you haven't changed. You are still doing what you have always done.

Become a member of the 20% club. Thats the percentage of successful people in the world. Put your focus into action. Its your focus, you have thought it, designed it and built it, now have the enthusiasm, desire and aim to implement it.

Change the I cant into I can. Think for a moment. Is this fear real Or is it that your imagination has taken over, stopping you from embracing the future Because, at the moment, you have no evidence of what is going to happen. The only evidence you have is in the past. And as you have not done this before, at this time, then you have no evidence.

Don't worry about your capabilities. Can I do this I have never done anything like this before What will I do when. There is something magical about this process called life. Whenever we are faced with an incident we have never faced before somehow the answer arrives. Somehow we have the capability. They appear just when you need them most. If you look back over your life we are sure you will find, like us, that most of the time you set out to do something you didn't have the capability before you started. The biggest example is education. When you started did you know all the knowledge you had at the end or did you become capable as you went along

All you need is courage, enthusiasm and discipline. Have the courage to drive towards your goals, the enthusiasm to keep going and the discipline to create a new habit even when it is tough. Keep focussed, keep learning.

The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting goals and achieving them. Even the most tedious chore will become endurable as you parade through each day convinced that every task, no matter how menial or boring, brings you closer to fulfilling your dreams.

To give yourself a better than average chance of success. Each night before you go to sleep ask yourself: What did I do today to bring me closer to achieving my focus, my aim and objective in life Break out of the prison cell.

When you get right down to it, time management is really about managing your actions. We all want to use the process of time management to allows us to perform more actions in the day, getting everything done that needs to be done and giving us time to do the things we enjoy doing. But time management isn't a magical cure for getting the actions done that you need to do. It's simply a tool. A very powerful tool when used correctly, but still just a tool.

For example, you might learn all there is to know about time management - read countless books, listen to CDs, and maybe even attend a few training courses or seminars. But unless you take action to put what you have learned into practice, it will be time and money wasted. And wasting time, as we both know, is one of the worst things you can do.

On the other hand, perhaps you do decide to take some action, and start to do some of the things you have learned. But only half-heartedly. Maybe you create a to do list at the start of the day, but then never refer to it. Or you organize all your existing files, but just throw any new papers into a single pile. Or you do a few of the exercises you have learned, but never do anything with the results you come up with.

But perhaps the worst thing that can happen when using the tools time management offers is to follow the actions you have learned, refer to the information you write down, but then simply not get anything done. In the case of a to do list, perhaps you draw the list up for the day, then just procrastinate on tackling even the first task. You may not even do it consciously - looking back on the day, things just always seemed to "come up" (although if you are following good time management advice, that excuse shouldn't apply any more!)

If this is happening, it is possible that the issue isn't time management, but more an issue of motivation.

If the tasks are part of your job, perhaps the work no longer interests you and you need to find another area to work in. If the tasks are for yourself and are related to your personal goals, perhaps the goals you have set for yourself aren't the correct goals for you You may have written those goals down because you thought you should, but it's not really what you want.

Of course it may just be that you didn't realize you were procrastinating on doing the actions you needed to do, and that realization spurs you on to get everything done!

Ultimately, time management comes down to taking action and applying the methods you have learned to plan your activities, then taking action to do those activities in the most efficient way possible. Everyone can do it - even you!

This may come as a surprise... but your attitude is more important than your aptitude in determining your success in life!

Just how critical is attitude to achievement Well, take a look at one of the greatest inventors of the last two hundred years - Thomas Edison. Every time you turn on a light switch, you experience the result of his persistence in the face of continuous failure. Edison tried 10,000 times to get his light bulb invention to work, but failed each time. However, he had this to say about his lack of success. "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
You can learn to have this kind of outlook on life, but it needs to be purposefully installed into your daily living.

You probably know it takes about 21 days to break a habit by replacing it with a new one. If you are plagued with persistent negative thoughts toward life, you can replace this mindset with a new positive-attitude habit!

Here is a 21-day five-step program to change a negative attitude to a positive one.

1. Take charge of what you're thinking.

This is a moment-by-moment decision that doesn't happen overnight. It's a habit that will take some time to build. How can you do this Choose to think uplifting thoughts instead of discouraging ones.

You get to decide what you think, which in turn determines how you feel. Become aware of this and dwell on positive ideas throughout the day.

At first you may have to force yourself to find something positive. Consider keeping a journal and write down at least one good thing in your life each day for three weeks. Then think about these blessings instead of discouraging thoughts.

2. Read inspirational material.

During this 21-day training period, fill your mind with good thoughts. The best book of all to read is that priceless diamond of world literature - the Bible. You'll never know what wonderful results from reading it are around the corner until you open its covers!

3. Focus on others.

For the next 21 days make an extra effort to help other people. Concentrating on assisting others will help you more than you realize. If you succeed in becoming wealthy but are poor in respect to your relationships, you will not be truly prosperous at all!

So make a special effort of focusing on others during your 21 days of building your new positive-attitude habit. This will free you up to allow the butterfly of happiness to land on your shoulder when you least expect it.

4. Take care of your health needs.

It's hard to maintain a positive mindset if you've neglected your physical needs. So during the 21 days of your attitude retraining make an extra effort to eat nutritious balanced meals.

Not getting enough sleep will also be a tremendous hindrance, so make sure you're getting adequate rest. And don't forget to get enough exercise. When you feel down, try to take a brisk 30-minute walk. You'll feel revived!

5. Learn contentment

For the next 21 days focus on what you have and not on what you don't have. Live in the present and enjoy your blessings. Try to forget acquiring stuff for the purpose of keeping up with others. That only leads to more anxiety. Be thankful for what you do have instead.

When going through difficult experiences - remember that adversity can be a blessing in disguise. You might learn some important lessons during those tough times - like Thomas Edison did. (I know I have.)

These lessons can turn into credentials that will enable you to help others when they're going through tough times.

So don't let negativity ruin your present and future. Instead, build a new habit of having a positive attitude. It will take about 21 days to start seeing consistent changes in the way you think, but it will be worth it!

Now choose the starting date for your attitude-renewal adventure and go for it!
How about today ?

I am a Loser. You're going to learn from this writing today the reason why you too must be a Loser. In all seriousness, let me share with you why I am writing this.

Over twenty million Americans watched the evolution of a winner in a reality show called The Biggest Loser. This particular show involved severely overweight and obese contestants that had simply lost all control of their weight. The winner that ultimately lost the most body weight and decreased his overall body fat was awarded $250,000.

I want to correlate this show to business, life and to personal success. You need to be the Biggest Loser when it comes to changing your associations with others. One of the contestants on the show was severely obese to the point that others would look at him and say to themselves, He will never be healthy past the point of no return really disgusting. But that person made the decision to change his life and become the ultimate winner

The Biggest Loser.

I want to share with you '5' secrets on How you can become a *BIG LOSER*!

Secret #1 Realization You must realize where you are today. The winner of the Biggest Loser realized that he was overweight and would ultimately die from his decisions to allow himself to become so unhealthy. He realized that enough is enough, and he made a change. I challenge you today to take a look at where you are in your business and/or your life. Have you had enough If so, then you need to lose all your negative habits and associations.

Secret #2 Accountability As soon as the contestants realized where they were in their lives, they became accountable to their teammates (a.k.a.Mastermind Team) in order to become the Biggest Loser and drop massive amounts of weight. These individuals look like completely different people. This is similar to your progression towards your ultimate Why in life. People start saying that you are changing you act different, you sound different, you listen to different CDs, you read different books and you even look different. You are on a success journey and accountable to Champions on your Mastermind Team. Where are you in your life Are others noticing these differences about you If not, its time to drop the negative associations and habits just like those contestants dropped that weight.

Secret #3 Extra Step The contestants pushed themselves to go the extra mile by participating in extra workouts, taking advantage of the extra associations with others that have goals and dreams like them and pushing themselves that extra step not to take part in indulgences that would ruin their overall goal of losing weight and becoming The Biggest Loser. Have you taken that extra step by attending extra events/seminars, making extra calls, investing in extra CDs and associating with extraordinary people This extra step will push you to the next level and give you that edge that others don't have.

Secret #4 Rewards Reward yourself as you begin to change and go to the next level. When you go to an extra event/seminar, save the ticket, your name tag, etc. and put them in your dream journal. This is a way of saying I did it! I went that extra step and now this is my reward! Be excited about that extra step and reward yourself with praise and self-acknowledgment.

Secret #5 Personal Coach Every single person on that show had a Personal Coach. Are you happy where you are in your life Do you need to lose weight, lose debt, gain health, gain wealth, lose negative associations, gain a Mastermind Team, gain prosperity, lose failure and/or gain success A major secret to achieve your ultimate why is the importance a Personal Coach. The first thing that The Biggest Loser did when he won the $250,000 was hug his Personal Coach.

Why ?

Because his Personal Coach was there each and every step of the way. I know when I personally coach Champions and receive their emails/calls saying that they have gone to the next level in their lives, I experience great excitement in their accomplishments. Thats what happens when you become a Champion thats what life is all about!

You cant do it alone!

In order to become a Winner in life, you must first become a Loser. I suggest that you read this article another 5 times. Analyze where you are right now, where you want to go, who you must associate with to get there and the habits that you must lose to do it. For those of you who want to go to the next level, I would love to be your Personal Coach and I only coach Champions who truly believe that they are worthy to receive success and go to the next level in life!

Life shouldn't be so complicated. Have you ever wondered why it is Have you ever thought; "why can't I figure this out" Have you ever said; "I don't have an attitude problem, you have a perception problem" Why are our lives so complicated

And Even My Reality Check Bounced!

I think living is a lot simpler than what we realize. I think living can be boiled down to three words. Listen, then Act! Listen to what Act on what How about listening to that still quiet voice inside your head that is constantly trying to get your attention

How many times have you had a big issue to deal with and had a thought that you just let pass. Maybe you thought; "no, that won't fix it!" Then another; "nahthat's not the answer either." Now granted, maybe it didn't look like the right solution. Maybe it just didn't have the right feel, or some elements seemed to be missing.

Well, hardly is any solution as clear as crystal when it first comes to light. There are always some facets of it that need to be hammered out. And, that requires some more "listening." But, most of the time we go running off half cocked with partial information and cause ourselves a big pain in the neck.

Earlier we said living can be boiled down to three words. Listen then Act. Acting is only half of what we need to do to bring success. The problem is; most people spend ninety percent of the time focused on the acting and ten percent focused on the listening, if any at all.

Waiting Lasts Too Long!

Inherent in listening is an element of patience. And most of the time, we find ourselves long on need and short on patience. Living in a microwave world makes it tough to live patiently. But, learning the art of listening will make patience seem more tolerable.

Here's why. Waiting on something we desperately need, makes us feel like we are idle and irresponsible. Keeping the patience makes us feel like we're doing nothing.

We keep having the feeling, "we should be doing something." Maybe you have heard the saying, "if it is to be, it's up to me!" Maybe so, but, not necessarily Tonto. You have some help you may not even know about.

Patience just doesn't conjure up the right kind of emotions in us to be still that long. The more the time passes the more impatient we become. But, Listening seems to be, and feels more like a pro-active function that we can tolerate.

Easy AS ABC!

It feels, at least somewhat, that we are doing something constructive to the completion of this problem. And the good part about listening is, that it's our spirit trying to give us the answers we need.

But, to make this an analogy; our spirit is a perfect gentleman/lady. He never imposes himself on our desires. If we want to go off half cocked, he will just be silent till we calm down. When we finally get quiet, he will give leading once again.

Maybe that just answered a question that many have had about why inspiration comes so sporadically. Have you ever had to wait till the fifty ninth second to get an answer you needed

At the very last moment of truth, you were finally and totally out of all answers, ready to just let happen whatever was going to happen, and in the quietness of your mind and body your spirit sends the answer. Personally, for me, this happens mostly when I'm totally out of all resources to help myself.

Getting Over The Hump!

Have you ever said this to someone; "the answer is just on the tip of my tongue" That's a pretty good sign you need to get quiet and spend a little time listening to your spirit. He's trying to give you answers and you are too busy doing "stuff", that's going nowhere, and wandering around, for forty years, on the back side of the desert.

The point I'm trying to make is; we are the ones that make our lives complicated and difficult. Life was never meant to be a series of disappointments followed by death. We are just not using the tools we have been given to live it efficiently.

The hardest problems I've ever solved in my life were the ones that I just jumped right on top of and showed it who was boss. I may have solved it, but, I knew I had been in a fight with Magilla Gorilla when it was over.

Give It A Rest!

The easiest problems I've ever solved in my life were the one's that I took the time to listen to my spirit and see what he might have to say about it. A word of caution! You can't listen effectively to your spirit while watching the Texas Chain Saw Massacre! Sorry, but he wants some quiet in the room!

Now I'm not trying to tell you that you need to spend ten hours a day listening to your spirit and trying to find out what he has to say about any problem you may be facing. Your spirit's got more sense than that. He's no dummy and realizes you have to make decisions.

What your spirit wants from you is a little respect and recognition. He wants you to run to him for answers instead of running headlong into a brick wall and wind up chasing your tail in every direction. You ever seen a dog chasing his tail Going in circles and not getting anywhere! How dumb can you get

Learning how to listen to your spirit only takes a few minutes a day. Daily practice of quiet time and listening will bring great rewards. The more you do it, the more you will be able to discern good information from "noise" in your mind which is just chatter.

Deep in your spirit is the answer for every problem life can throw at you. But, your spirit has some rules and you have to follow them. They're not hard. As we said, living was not designed to be hard; we are the ones that make it hard.

The Two Commandments!

Rule number one: recognize that quiet time, listening to your spirit, is crucial for your problem solving ability.

Rule number two: develop a little humility when the answer comes. And, when you solve it, don't be too quick to hog all the credit. A little humility won't hurt you.

Let me give you an illustration: Find a quiet place, sitting in a comfortable chair, with good posture, close your eyes and blank everything out of your mind.

As you remain quiet thoughts and ideas will come to you. Some will be noise and chatter; some will be worth listening to for more information. The longer you do it, the more efficient you'll become at listening.

Last But Not Least!

Finally, when the most plausible answer comes, the one you feel has the best chance of working, get up and go "act". But, you didn't need me to tell you that. Most of us are pretty good at burning the candle at both ends. But, "listening to our spirit", tends to get our knickers all in a twist.

I recently gave a presentation on this topic at an Annual Conference of Human Resource Professionals. The room was full! So I thought the information might be timely for some of you.

What is burnout What are the symptoms and causes And if you're experiencing it, what can you do

The dictionary states that burnout is "exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration." I put usually in italics because even when you love your work like I do, you can overdo and find yourself burned out.

Symptoms of burn out can be physical, behavioral and spiritual. Here are some signs that you're heading for burn out:

fatigue

muscle tension

headaches

insomnia

not keeping commitments

lack of effectiveness

irritability

anxiety

sense of emptiness-nothing left to give

lack of joy

not able to laugh

Causes of burnout can come from within ourselves or from our organizations. Some common causes are high expectations of ourselves, denial of our basic needs like food and sleep, poor time management skills, inability to set boundaries or to say no.

Organizational causes can be a culture of competitiveness, or one in which being constantly busy and overworked is prized with email and phone calls taken along on "vacations." Insufficient training in new job roles or cramped, noisy environments can also contribute to burnout.

Here are 3 ways to manage burnout: change the stressful situation, reduce your vulnerability to stress and/or change the way you react to stress that cannot be changed:

1. Change the stressful situation if you can. If there are some high stress aspects of your job, see if you can rotate this task with others. Limit the number of hours you are under stress. Spend some time on career/life planning. Set your priorities and live by them.

2. You can reduce your vulnerability to stress by taking care of your physical self with good nutrition, exercise and enough sleep. Avoid nicotine and don't overdo caffeine and alcohol. Surround yourself with supportive people, work with a coach who will listen to you deeply and help you to create a good balance of work and other aspects of your life.

3. Finally, change the way you react to stress. You can do this by modifying your self-talk and self-criticism. Learn techniques to calm yourself - a few deep breaths can bring you right back to a centered place, able to face whatever stress is in front of you. Become a self-care expert and have some fun.