Burnout is a combination between a physical body that won’t and a mind that can’t. Ambition is when a mind and its expectations don’t match reality. Altogether we have a cocktail for internal disaster and external exhaustion the more time that goes on without a clear alternative. I am down for the grind if I know it’s headed somewhere much better but without milestones and goals along the way, the work becomes a tedious endeavor. Sometimes there are steps and a plan intended to work towards our goals but reaching the next step isn’t as smooth or as easy as we had imagined. In such cases we may find that we trip over ourselves, ever frustrated that we can’t seem to reach the next step in our delicate plans. How then, can we proceed forward even if we fall?

Vision itself only provides us with a detailed idea of where we want to end up. Practical steps just outline the best path there, drive gives us the motivation to continue but flexibility offers us the option to continue when shit falls apart! Put each of these attitudes and approaches together and you have a powerhouse for potential. When I think of my vision I ask myself “What does this future version of myself look like and what would it take to bring him into existence?”. The only question that doesn’t matter is “When” because the pieces fall when they may. Landing sideways and out of sync with the rest of the picture. Sometimes you have to have pieces for two puzzles before you can build a bridge to make them into one united vision.

I enjoy problem solving but only when I am not in active burnout. Having problems to solve keeps my mind active and sharp, with an eye for the future and a mind focused on possibilitities and opportunities of all types at all times. Obsession might seem unhealthy but a mind that always thinks always solves and teaches itself to think as we explore our options by reading and asking around. There is no pain in not knowing only in not understanding.