Course 2: Becoming a 7 Cups Leader - (Discussion #11) Avoiding Burnout
7 Cups is founded on a community of passionate volunteers who lovingly dedicate their time to providing support.
You may face what is called burnout during your journey. You may have already faced this in your real life. Burnout is very real and must be recognized. You can't help fuel someone else when your tank is empty, after all!
To address and learn about burnout, we have created a slidedeck on how to avoid burnout.
Activity: Please read it through and in the replies, tell us what you learned, and what you will do to stay healthy and avoid burnout!
Then, please reply to 3 of your peers in this thread with encouraging or supportive words!
After completing the course quiz, please proceed to this post!
This post is brought to you by the Leadership Development Program Team, find out more information about the program here.
Please read it through and in the replies, tell us what you learned, and what you will do to stay healthy and avoid burnout!
I learned a lot of things to put here. On my personal level. I noticed a pattern. I give a lot and then gets burned out.
The right solution is to find a balance and that's what I am gonna find now. I should also maintain healthy boundaries.
And remember my WHY.
I found this quote yesterday and just wanted to put it here.., "He who has a WHY to live for can bear almost any HOW."
@Petrichor2000
Great quote!
@freshMint9376 thank you.
Good answer
@Heather225
I have learned that it is perfectly okay and essential to take self-care breaks! It is needed to continue to successfully volunteer on 7 Cups. I am currently not taking any chats because I am super busy with the new semester and I have to learn that it is okay to take a break when there is too much on my plate!
@LittleBirdie30
Breaks can be very helpful!
@LittleBirdie30
It makes sense not taking any new chats. Breaks can be super helpful! Good luck with the new semester!
@LittleBirdie30, taking breaks are so important! 💙
I agree with u👍🏻
Please read it through and in the replies, tell us what you learned, and what you will do to stay healthy and avoid burnout!
I learned to keep a (minty) fresh attitude and to remember my reason for volunteering in the first place!
@freshMint9376
I will remember to take self care breaks in order to stay healthy and avoid burnouts
@freshMint9376
Keeping a minty attitude is awesome! What was your reason for volunteering in the first place? Great response!
Please read it through and in the replies, tell us what you learned, and what you will do to stay healthy and avoid burnout!
I learned that burnout is a state of chronic stress, I did not know that before! I had no idea that burn out could have physical symptoms, that was informative and really interesting to learn! In order to avoid burnout, I will be doing daily downtime, as well as take regular self-care breaks, and try to set boundaries with my time online.
@hopedreamlove
Great answer! It seems like you learned a lot about burnout and you also have a good plan about how to prevent it! Well done :)
@hopedreamlove
Beautiful answer !
How difficult is to limit time online !
But how important !
@hopedreamlove
your response is informative and insightful....
@hopedreamlove
Nice answer :)
@hopedreamlove
Great answer
Great answer👍🏻
@Heather225
What I learned from the slides is what burnout means and how I can avoid it. First, I can recognize if I am feeling it, and then take the necessary precautions to reduce it or get rid of it. That means scheduling time offline from the platform, contacting managers about my roles if I bit off more I can chew, and make sure I set good boundaries between my time and my time on the platform. When we get burnout, it can highly affect our ability to lead. It's okay to take a break when needed and communicate it to others so they are aware.
@shiningDay80
And to also remember WHY I volunteered in the first place. That's the key point!
@shiningDay80 great response !
@shiningDay80 the "why" is such a big thing to remember!
@shiningDay80
Love this. And you're right to note this. Always remember WHY we volunteered in the first place ❤️
Hi @shiningDay80! I love how you mentioned remembering the “why” you volunteered in the first place. Many times we forget, particularly when things get tough and we question whether or not we should be here.
@shiningDay80
Awesome response
@shiningDay80
Very thoughtful answer. Good job!
@shiningDay80
Its always important to take a break, I agree!
@shiningDay80
Great response :)
@shiningDay80
I like the "Preventive" approach to Burnout. I have not seen it stressed anywhere before. It's always what to do "after" your brain is burnt.
"Preventive" is Wiser !
@shiningDay80
You're so right, balance is so important!
@shiningDay80 Great answer! I'm sure you'll do great!
@shiningDay80
I appreciated your thorough post!
@shiningDay80
I agree with you on how to avoid burnout and put yourself first sometimes. I hope you are able to care for yourself and make sure you don't reach that point - seems to me like you are on a good track with that though.
Best of luck with your LDP Journey!
@shiningDay80
Very thoughtful response!
@shiningDay80
Sounds like you learned a lot!
@shiningDay80 You expressed it in a lovely way, and yeo remembering the why makes a huge difference. Take care <3
@shiningDay80
Very informative! I hope that you incorporate self-care routines too in order to prevent burnout.
@Heather225
Please read it through and in the replies, tell us what you learned, and what you will do to stay healthy and avoid burnout!
I learned a lot from the slides. I discovered that I can't give what I don't have and in the process of helping others I should avoid burn out..I also learned not to accumulate portfolios, it's better to drop some to be effective and also fill my emotional, physical needs. It is good for me to get go offline for a while to get more energy and refreshed.
@Beaconx
Keep up the good work!
@Beaconx
Excellent response! Totally understandable.
@Beaconx
Great answer!!
@Beaconx
Agreed and loved how you put that we cant give what we dont have, it is so necessary to remember that!
Agreed @Beaconx.
If we are not at our best, it's unfair to us and to the person depending on us.
@Beaconx
Great post!
@Heather225
Please read it through and in the replies, tell us what you learned, and what you will do to stay healthy and avoid burnout!
🌸 I learned that burnout is a state of chronic stress and is real. I'll take breaks when I have to and not feel guilty about it, practise self care, say no when I have to
@ahealingEndoftherainbow22
Nice job with your answer! Self-care is important when dealing with burnout indeed!
@ahealingEndoftherainbow22
True. Self care is essential but not feeling guilty about taking it is so very important.
@crystalclearnow
Yes, it's something most of us need to remember :)
@ahealingEndoftherainbow22
True. Self care is essential but not feeling guilty about taking it is so very important.
@ahealingEndoftherainbow22
True. Self care is essential but not feeling guilty about taking it is so very important.
@ahealingEndoftherainbow22
I like how you mention guilt, because we can often feel guilty for taking the time to self-care. Ultimately, it is important to keep in mind that before we are able to serve others, we have to make sure we are in the right mental and emotional state to help them, and that often requires serving ourselves first!
@IvyL
So true and great reminder! :)
@ahealingEndoftherainbow22
👏👏👏
@ahealingEndoftherainbow22
not feeling guilty is key, good luck!
@ahealingEndoftherainbow22 That makes so much sense, and I agree breaks are super important! Stay safe <3
@ahealingEndoftherainbow22
Great responsee. Especially the part about not feeling guilty when taking time out for ourselves
@Heather225
I learned that it is important to reflect on what stresses you out and to constantly take self-care breaks when needed in order to avoid burning out. What am going to do to ensure I do not burn out is make sure I communicate to my team when I need a self-care break, reach out to peers when I feel overburdened or stressed, and constantly assess and reflect on my needs and what burns me out.
@CognitiveACE
Brilliant answer, Ace 
! I wish you the best in your journey ahead!
Agreed @CognitiveACE
If we are not at our best, it's unfair to us and to the person depending on us.
@CognitiveACE great approach! :)
@Heather225
Please read it through and in the replies, tell us what you learned, and what you will do to stay healthy and avoid burnout!
I learnt that burnout is a reality which if ignored can cause serious problem to our mental well-being and can defeat the purpose of the team for which we work. There are times when we need to pause and assess our roles. If we still want to continue pursuing our roles, then we need to priorities self-care. If we don't want to continue our current role, then we should start considering a transition sooner than later. At every point in time, we must prioritise our emotional well-being and our personal needs. Ignoring our emotional well-being and personal needs may cause burnout, may worsen the situation of burnout and may affect the work we do in our professional or personal life.
In order to stay healthy and avoid burnout, I will take good sleep, will exercise daily, prioritise self-care, and will regularly reassess my Why for anything I would do.
@shiningSound31
When I first started out as a listener, I was very excited to get involved in many roles across the site, but I soon found myself overwhelmed and exhausted after six months. So it is definitely very important to prioritize our own emotional well-being as volunteers and leaders, like you have said!
@IvyL
The same happened with me also. Self-care is really important!
@shiningSound31
Good response! Excercise and Sleep is extremely imp too.
@shiningSound31
Love your answer! I think what you said is very important and everyone should realize it - at every point in time, we must prioritize our emotional well-being and our personal needs because otherwise we cannot do our job properly and we are damaging our health! We have only one health after all.
@shiningSound31
Emotional well being and our needs are so important, good insight!
@shiningSound31 You summarised the essence of being burnt out so well! And those self care tips are great, and I wish you the very best in your journey ahead :)
@shiningSound31
Something I will implement as a part of self-care routine is complete social media and technological detox days, so that I can come back rejuvenated.
@crystalclearnow
I think a social media and tech detox is a great idea! Though I'm not much of a user of social media myself, I tend to spend quite a bit of time on the internet.
@crystalclearnow
This is an excellent idea! Actually recently I have started to notice more and more how toxic social media can be and I think it is very important for our well-being to have some social media and technological detox days. I have not though of implementing it to my self-care routine but your comment prompted me to try it. Thank you!