Burnout

It's the worst thing that could happen.

Okay, not the worst thing that could happen, but when it happens to me it feels like it's the worst thing that could happen.

The worst part is that you never know when it will happen, but you do know that it will happen at some point. And when it does happen you never know how long it will last.. will it be an hour, a day... forever?

That's right, I'm talking about burnout.

The dreaded killer of creativity, the squasher of motivation, the fog that makes a home in your brain and reminds you that everything is awful and that you need to work really hard to make things better but doesn't allow you the space to figure out what needs to be done.

When I start something new, whether that be a new job, a home-improvement project, or whatever, I have the best intentions of the way things should turn out and how long it will take to get there. Spoiler Alert: It always takes 40 times as long as I think it should. And that causes me to burn out.

When I begin new design for an upcoming message series, or start helping to work out the logistics to the next big event, or something else entirely, I tend to start off feeling like this:

But then burnout sets in and after days of trudging through difficulty I feel much more like this:

All I need is a good breakthrough to relieve me of my burnout. And it always happens, but it feels like it'll never come when you're in the middle of it. 

Need some surefire ways to defeat burnout?

1) Drink more coffee (preferably from a french press)
2) Social interaction (not too much for us introverts, just enough to make sure we aren't labeled as hermits)
3) Dress up like Batman and roll around the room on a wheely chair.

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And now for something completely different:

A Note of Thanks:

Thank you to everyone who has been so generous with us. We are incredibly blessed to be here and to be able to do what we do, working at this church and putting our time towards it's growth and health. Everyday it seems like we are shocked and awed by someone's generosity; by their support and their words of encouragement.

And also a big thanks to my brother Nick for turning me on to "The Ordinary Adventures of Batman". It has helped to rid me of my burnout.

...but, I'm still going to roll around in my wheely chair... just in case.