Tips to Avoid Burnout!

Mindset

Traditional belief regarding any performance-related activity has been that “more is better.” However to avoid burnout, one may want to change their mindset to “less is more.” Both the European College of Sports Medicine and American College of Sports Medicine agree that successful training requires overreaching, while avoiding excessive overload and inadequate recovery (Meeusen et al., 2013). Taking the time to rest, recover, and effectively cope before returning to a rigorous practice routine can help those who have taken a great deal of stress both physically and mentally. 

The Environment

An environment that is conducive to focusing on task mastery rather than just performance decreases the risk for burnout. Prioritizing our attention to task, or mastery orientation, will lead to greater personal improvements than those with an outcome orientation, who are mostly concerned with beating others. An environment where technique or improvement on skills is the focus is going to be better than an environment where performers are valued by the outcome of their performance. If a person is constantly discouraged and dissatisfied at the end of their practices or performances and it is never addressed, the possibility for burnout increases. Researchers also found that requiring extremely high training volume, excessively high time demands, severe performance expectations, inconsistent coaching practices, and negative performance evaluations may also lead to burnout (Malina, 2010; Matos et al., 2011).

Specialization

Early specialization can increase risk for burnout (DiFiori et al., 2014). Parents’ want their kids to start focusing on a specific performance at an early age to increase opportunities for early recognition and fame. Kids are not the only ones at risk as anybody at any age can increase the chances for burnout if they only focus on one part of their identity and are engaging in it for the wrong reasons. A person should participate in activity performance for the right reasons such as fun and other intrinsic motivations, but not for an end goal of money or fame. Engaging in various activities and roles in life can help reduce risk for burnout because it creates multiple identities and purposes for the person to fall back on and gives time to disassociate from their role as a performer in any one specific role. 

Support, Don’t Pressure

It is important to recognize the role we play in the experience of burnout of someone else, especially when there are signs. Our aim should be to support rather than push. Just knowing someone is there for you can help reduce negative feelings such as being overwhelmed and fatigued. Pressure from parents, coaches, friends, and pressure from successful performance attempts or outcomes, like winning, are related to burnout (Raedekeet al., 2002). Sometimes it is not others who pressure us but rather the pressure comes from our own desires to change. Understanding and educating yourself on your own “why’s” or purpose for task involvement will help you focus on continuous engagement in the activity. If we are pressured to do something because others tell us to do it and we are not sold on it ourselves or it is not something we want and value, it will likely lead to burnout. The presence or absence of positive social support from others impacts the increase or decrease of burnout symptoms. Stein, Raedeke, & Glenn (1999) found that parental involvement influences motivation, enjoyment, and stress. However, Just because others are involved or present may still not be enough. Perception of that person's support influences burnout as well. I could come to all of your exercise or sport trainings and competitions, but if I am perceived as unsupportive burnout is still a likely outcome. 

Listen To Your Body and Mind

Most of us would like, or are taught, to believe that working harder will help us accomplish all the goals we want. In reality though, this is not always possible and there is a danger when hard work is the only focus and physical and mental recovery are ignored. Regular rest days and periods should be taken into consideration in the routine for adequate recovery and recuperation, reducing the possibility of overtraining (Hopson, Donatelle, & Litrell, 2015). Before burnout occurs, your body and mind will provide signs that it is exhausted from chronic overuse and lack of rest. If you are only focused on outcome goals in your performance, you may be unwilling to change your focus on pushing harder and harder. If you are taking on too many roles or responsibilities it is only a matter of time before it catches up with you. These things can cause problems in other areas such as work, family, and life balance due to poor energy and mood. If we are tired and irritable all the time, others may not want to be around us. The opposite can also hold true, we may not want to engage in activities we usually consider enjoyable or social activities nearly as much if we lack the energy and desire. The end effect is usually a detriment in performance. So all the work we put into training could end up all for nothing if we push too hard and/or take on too much at one time. “Awareness is the most important first step to initiating any positive change” (Robbins & Madrigal, 2017). Using a calendar has proven as a key task for effective time management and awareness of routines that are positive and beneficial and ones that are detrimental. 

Shift Your Goals

When driven by expectations and outcomes, one can become overly critical of themselves and others while losing the fun in the process. A goal is only useful when it promotes positive behavior and enjoyment of the process, regardless of the outcome. Shifting our goals from outcome to process, and changing our goal orientation from ego/outcome to task/mastery can help us steer clear of burnout. Individuals who are ego/outcome oriented focus on their achievements in comparison to others and feel competent and proud only when they win. Task/mastery goal oriented individuals engage in activities to improve or learn and gauge their success by personal improvement. If ego/outcome do not always win their high levels of perceived competence take a hit, thereby decreasing future efforts. Task oriented individuals are better able to persist and keep putting in effort following failures or losses because they can gain satisfaction from lesson learned, effort extolled, and improvements over past performances. By removing the need to win, you put yourself in a better position to do just that. You also give yourself the freedom to actually enjoy the activity and overcome challenges. 

Strive To Improve, Not Be Perfect

The harmful mindset to focus on winning is perpetuated by the notion that perfect is possible and anything less than perfect is not to be celebrated. (Robbins & Madrigal, 2017). It is of critical importance that one learns from mistakes, losses, or missteps rather than being rigid and unwilling to accept anything but winning. A perfectionist mindset can lead to trust issues and an overly critical and judgmental attitude towards others, increasing risk for burnout. By changing negative overly critical thoughts to more positive thoughts, we can learn to appreciate the moment far more easily and focus on enjoying the steps along the way. To avoid burnout remember to set task oriented goals, focus on the positives, and find the fun, rather than the outcome only. 

Find Your Balance

Often people engage in activities because they love it, and that identity can consume them if they are not careful. Spending all of our time and effort on one sole activity and eliminating other activities and passions seen as distractions can be a red flag. This balance can be regulated by asking the question “who are you?” An individual should not struggle to identify various other roles they engage in besides just the one. This will help people identify that they are more than just one single identity and have other things that are meaningful in their life.

Caleb Campbell, M.S., NASM-CPT, BCS, GFI, SFS

References

DiFiori, J. P., Benjamin, H. J., Brenner, J. S., Gregory, A., Jayanthi, N., Landry, G. L., & Luke, A. (2014). Overuse injuries and burnout in youth sports: A position statement from the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 48, 287-288.

Hopson, J. L., Donatelle, R. J., & Litrell, T. R. (2015). Get fit, stay well! (3rd ed.). San Francisco, C: Benamin Cummings.

Robbins, J., & Madrigal, L. (2017). Sport, exercise, and performance psychology: Bridging theory and application. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company, LLC.

Malina, R. M. (2010). Early sport specialization: Roots, effectiveness, risks. Current Sports Medicine Reports, 9, 364-371.

Matos, N. F., Winsley, R. J., & Williams, C. A. (2011). Prevalance of nonfunctional overreaching/overtraining in young English athletes. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 43, 1287-1294.

Meeusen, R., Duclos, M., Foster, C., Fry, A., Gleeson, M., Nieman, D., … Urhausen, A. (2013). Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the overtraining syndrome: Joint consensus statement of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). European Journal of Sport Science, 13, 1-24

Raedeke, T. D., Lunney, K., & Venables, K. (2002). Understanding athlete burnout: Coach perspectives. Journal of Sport Behavior, 25, 181-206.

Stein, G. L., Raedeke, T. D., & Glenn, S. D. (1999). Children’s perceptions of parent sport involvement: It’s now how much, but to what degree that’s important. Journal of Sport Behavior, 22, 591-601.