Burn Out? Never.
After I had been a UNDP staff member for many years, people would sometimes ask me if I had just joined. I would ask them why they asked me that and they would say because I seemed fresh, positive and non-cynical. I would then say that I have been an international civil servant for 15 years but that I take care of myself. Every day I do things that maintain my sense of awareness, integrity, hope and relevance. Taking care of oneself is very important but it doesn’t happen by accident.
If we don’t take care of ourselves we can burn out or become disillusioned, cynical, complacent, self satisfied, distracted or despairing. My definition of a cynic is an idealist who has burned out. Most people begin their lives or careers with hope, vision and energy. Then we encounter the “real world” of struggle, egos, resistance, conflict and failure.
In my 20s I believed that my NGO and I would transform the world within 10 years. In my 40s I believed that the UN and I would transform the world in 20 years. In my 60s I believe that the human race and I will transform the world within 100 years. But what will the transformation be? Will we create a compassionate civilization of sustainable human development or will we live in misery on a degraded planet?
How do we maintain our commitment and passion for transformation as we deal with our aging bodies and the stubborn resistance that we encounter in individual psyches and behaviors and in collective assumptions and institutions? How do we do what needs to be done today while we envision what could be realized in some tomorrow? How do I take care of myself so that I keep on keeping on?
One of the things I do every morning is remember who I am and what I am about. I express gratitude for my life and for life itself. I articulate my vows and intentions. I remember those who have gone before me and those I love. I stand before the really real and rededicate myself to a life of compassion and understanding. I find that this is the most important thing I do all day long. It is my action before the action. In that moment everything is realized and I am at peace and ready to know, do and be all that I can for all that can be.