The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella is a story that follows Sasha as she deals with the aftermath of having a breakdown due to, you guessed it, burnout. Burnout is a very real thing that so many of us deal with, and after going through it myself, I couldn’t resist picking up this book to hopefully make me feel better about it all.
Below is my Goodreads review which is about my interpretation of the story as well as comments on what was likeable and not so likeable. But in this post, I wanted to talk a bit about the concept of being true to yourself.
A big theme in the book is about reminiscing over what you enjoyed as a child, and then re-evaluating your current life choices. There’s a lot about being honest with yourself and those closest to you in order to be truly happy.
I think so many of us feel as though we aren’t achieving anything unless we are close to burnout all of the time. As if the only real success is being rich and you have to keep ‘hustling’ in order to achieve that. But the reason most of us want money is to have freedom and flexibility. We want to be able to live life how we choose so that we don’t have to slave away. The irony being that we end up doing exactly that.
This story helps you explore the options in life that might not provide you with financial riches but actually enrich your life. For example, Sasha (in the novel), goes back to Devon to go back to a time when she felt most at peace. As a child she went there on holiday’s and now she is in desperate need for a holiday so it’s the perfect solution. However, once she gets there, it isn’t exactly what she expected. Although it isn’t perfect at a first glance, it ends up being perfect for her.
A lot of us end up missing opportunities like that because society tries telling us there is no real value in it. The real value only comes from if it matters to you.
Let’s take an example of horses (one of my great loves). So many people love horses but they are notoriously expensive whether you have your own, or ride other people’s. It’s a difficult situation for most people as they might go as a child but then have to stop when they have other commitments. Perhaps a person works and works and works in the hopes of saving up to buy their own horse or to go riding as a hobby. To build a life with horses would take a stupid amount of money if you don’t have some kind of inheritance.
But now, imagine the option of working at a stables or a horse sanctuary. It’s unlikely that the pay would be that good, but that person who loves just being around horses, can spend every single day with them. Not only does it not cost them, but they would actually earn money. Surely that would be the better option? They might not be able to own their own horse, but not owning a horse doesn’t mean you can’t love them.
We feel better when we are doing a job that helps us feel more productive. A job that gives us meaning and a purpose. For some people this might mean that they feel better being a nurse, for other people it might mean working behind a bar.
By focusing on what matters to us in life and what brings about a sense of peace, we can avoid burnout. Not only because we are doing work that we enjoy but because we are more likely to be around people who value the same thing.
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