Can Emotional Intelligence prevent Burn Out?

One of my favorite clients recently pointed out to me that self-motivation is in effect the opposite of burnout and it is very true if you look at the more complex synonyms of the word’s motivation and burnout.

Motivation is a synonym for engagement and is said to be measured by levels of passion, excitement or dedication. And Burn out is described as a disease of disengagement. What is interesting to me is that motivation is one of the 5 keys of Emotional Intelligence. Thus, a motivational program is nothing less than emotional intelligence training.

There are of course more to emotional intelligence than just motivation. Here are a few highlights of how Emotional Intelligence could prevent burn out.

Elements of Emotional Intelligence:

1. Self-awareness: if you are aware of your emotions and have confidence in who you are, you should be able to detect when you are pushing yourself too far.

2. Self-Regulation: If you can control your emotions you can control how you react in difficult situations. If you are adaptable and can solve problems creatively the chances are slimmer that you can overload yourself or feel overloaded.

3. Motivation: is your determination, discipline and passion for achieving your goals. If you are self-motivated, you have the drive to achieve your goals (and you know what your goal or passion is). It also means you have a positive mindset that can help to prevent burn out.

4. Empathy: If you can understand other people and are willing to help other people, they will be willing to help you. Givers gain, thus if you help others, you are also preventing burn out, because this will give you the confidence to ask for help when you are overloaded.

5. Social Skills: If you can communicate well with others, you can set healthy boundaries, which people will respect due to the influence you have socially. You will be able to manage conflict and gain support from your team, preventing yourself from being overloaded and burning out.

Dimensions of Burn Out:

1. Burn / Frustration: Frustration, irritability, anger, cynicism and bitterness can be prevented with good communication skills, self-regulation, self-awareness and empathy.

2. Out / Exhaustion: being drained and exhausted normally comes from over extending yourself for a prolonged time. Setting healthy boundaries with others and re-connecting with your inner drive/ your passion will help you feel less depleted and less detached. Thus, you will remain passionate and full of energy.

3. Inefficiency: If you see yourself in a negative light, judge yourself for feeling tired or drained, doubting your abilities or feeling incompetent that means you lost touch with who you are, you need to reconnect with yourself, thus become more Self-aware as well as reshape your thoughts from negative to positive.

Therefore, I feel that I can safely conclude that burnout can be prevented with emotional intelligence. In fact, emotional intelligence equates to about 80% of career success, thus no surprise that people who are emotionally intelligent suffer from burn out less often.

Keep Improving

The Ameliorate Team

#burnout; #emotionalintelligence; #motivation; #selfregulation; #selfawareness; #selfdevelopment