Am I just being lazy, ungrateful, or am I burnt out?

Lately, You’ve Been:

• Having a hard time completing tasks
• Feeling like time is either passing by extremely fast or extremely slow
• Overwhelmed by the number of things on your to-do list
• Bored at doing your daily routine and working on your business
• Tired of always being the go-to person for your family and friends
• Wish people could see how much you’re drowning and help you for a chance

Then, a voice says, “What do you have to complain about?”  

• You have a roof over your head
• Clothes on your back
• Money in the bank
• Your own business where you set your own schedule
• Help in business, or home
• You got it better than most of your family and friends

You begin to wonder if you’re just being lazy, ungrateful, or burnt out?

First, let’s look at some definitions.

Laziness: Unwilling to work or use energy

• You could never be lazy.
• If you reviewed how you spent your time and energy over the last 7 days, I’m sure we can come up with a list of things that required work and energy
  • Personal hygiene
  • Zoom calls
  • Sending and reading emails
  • Cooking meals
  • Answering Slack messages
  • Cleaning the kitchen
• Whether or not you think these qualify as legitimate tasks, they required work and energy.

Ungrateful: Not feeling or showing appreciation or kindness

• Who should you feel or show appreciation and kindness towards?
• Most likely, you’re thinking about other people who are depending on you.
• This could be clients who are waiting for feedback, your mama who needs to go to the store, that group project you’re a part of at work, and other people.
• You may not have considered that the person who needs gratitude, appreciation, and kindness the most is YOU.
• How have you shown yourself gratitude, appreciation, and kindness to yourself lately? If you haven’t, how can you really show it to others without betraying yourself? Meaning, you’re pouring from an empty cup which is causing you more harm at a higher rate than the rate you’re helping others.

Burnt Out: Completely exhausted and overworked

• This leads to what may be the truest for you.
• Being exhausted and overworked isn’t so much about your to-do list and workload as it is about being emotionally exhausted and overworked.
• You spend your days avoiding your emotions only for them to catch up to you and completely overwhelm you. This process of running and being overwhelmed is exhausting. 
• I don’t have time for emotions or rest.
• I’m afraid that if I start then I won’t be able to stop.
• I have some time coming up and I’ll do it then.
• But you won’t. You haven’t before because you’re too exhausted to figure out how to process your emotions. 
• Meanwhile, your team and those closest to you are paying the price. The very things you are blaming others for doing (taking advantage, being selfish, and being inconsiderate) are the very things you are doing to others. You just can see it because you call it by another name, people-pleasing.