I look youngish for my age, but I have exactly the strength and flexibility you would expect for a 50 year old who hasn’t been to the gym in 7 years.

So I’ve started taking the daily yoga classes in the park overlooking the ocean near my home.

I’m pretty terrible at it. (Yoga used to be so much easier when I was younger, thinner, and stronger!) I comfort myself thinking how much better I’m making everybody else feel about their own asanas.

I’m not even trying to do my very best. I push, I try, and then I pretty quickly modify my position to something easier. And then I rest in baby pose. I push myself just enough to be sore as heck afterwards, but not so hard that I won’t show up the next day.

Day after day I’m a little stronger. I can do a little bit more. And then I switch to any easier position and then baby pose again. I bounce back from baby pose a little faster.

I recommend you steal this model for anything you’re learning/struggling with/not good at yet. Easy does it, but do it.

Life is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s important to distinguish between sprinting–playing full out–and a marathon–pacing ourselves.

And that brings me to the topic of BURN OUT.

Last weekend I was attending a conference with a few dozen coaching peers in Palm Springs.

One of my friends spoke about burn out. After nearly killing herself with business “success,” she’s pivoted her focus to lifestyle-friendly business practices. It’s an important subject.

It occurs to me that I’ve been focusing on life-style friendly, burn-out prevention business practices my entire coaching career, with myself and with my clients.

(It’s funny how coaches who may have looked down on me a decade ago are starting to look at my business/life model with envy. Less effort, less drama, less niche hopping… in exchange for more take-home net profit, more travel, more weddings.)

So I thought I’d whip out my own guiding principles for How To Remedy–and Prevent–Burn Out.

First, let’s take a look at what typically causes burn out in the first place.

Top Three Causes of Burn Out

1. Living life like a sprint, not a marathon. A high stress, labor intensive business model can only last so long.
2. Not recognizing that your values have changed and your business hasn’t.
3. Undercharging/not getting paid enough.

How do you know you’re heading for burn out?

Top Four Signs of Burn Out

1. Resenting your business/clients/activities.
2. Boredom, exhaustion.
3. A desire to quit, to shut down your business.
4. Illness, accidents: when we ignore our needs, our bodies step in to get our attention.

What do you do to fix or–even better–prevent burn out?

Best Remedies (and Prevention) for Burn Out

1. Step away. Take a trip. Physical distance creates the necessary emotional distance to look at the big picture, see clearly, and re-evaluate your choices and values. What may have been a good fit when you began may not fit you now. (It’s no accident I lead my retreats in Bali...)
2. Schedule down time, and LOTS of it, before your body forces you to take down time. Be really generous with this, way more than you think you need. This will give you the fuel you need for the sprints.
3. Simplify. Ten years ago I had a billionaire mentor, an international icon. I watched and listened intently to learn his strategies for success. What he shared: he had very small team, focused on relationship, and he worked with the same people for decades.
4. Commit to your values. Slay your money monster, and start again with a Money Honey at your side.
5. Charge more. Very often what feels like burn out is really the pain of self-betrayal we feel when we are not fairly compensating ourselves. What price point would re-energize you’re commitment to your business?
6. Fun is not an option. It’s a necessity. It’s one of my 3 Pillars for every business decision: must help others, must pay well, and must be fun.

What’s YOUR experience with burn out? Are you in it? Have you come out of it? Do you have any insights, experience, or tips to share? Please post below!

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MORGANA RAE is an internationally acclaimed life coach, author, and professional speaker, who is regarded as the world’s top Relationship with Money coach. Morgana’s groundbreaking program for attracting wealth has featured her on ABC-TV, PBS, NPR, United Press International and The Wall Street Journal online. Learn how to become a Money Magnet with her FREE 4-part video gift series. Fill out your name and email at the top of the page. (We promise not to share your info!)