How to recover from burnout: Success stories from Mindvalley members

“One day, I found myself in total overload,” Jon Butcher, the founder of Lifebook, recalls in his Mindvalley Quest of the same name. “After years and years of holding everything up for everyone, I simply collapsed under the weight of my own life.”

Anyone having gone through burnout can typically relate. It’s heavy, it’s paralyzing, and when you’re trying to do simple day-to-day things, it can be a total pain in the butt.

…But like many others who’ve gone through a similar experience and found their way out, Jon knows how to recover from burnout. 

So, if you’re finding yourself wearing thin these days, Jon’s story might be the inspiration you need to turn things around.

What is burnout?

Burnout is a state of exhaustion from emotional, physical, and mental symptoms that stem from periods of excessive stress, according to Liz Hughes, a licensed professional clinical counselor (LPCC) with ADHDAdvisor.org and owner of Mind Body Therapy PLLC.

But it’s not simply a case of the blues. Instead, it’s a deeper loss of motivation for completing tasks you once were able to handle with ease.

You may also start feeling a sense of detachment, not only from your work but from life in general. And that can lead to reduced productivity, waning performance, and even health problems.

Burnout is a state of exhaustion from emotional, physical, and mental symptoms that stem from periods of excessive stress.

Where does the term “burnout” come from, though? It’s a metaphor for “the smothering of fire or the extinguishing of a candle,” as researchers Wilmar Schaufeli, Michael Leiter, and Christina Maslach explain in their study on burnout, which spanned 35 years.

“It implies that once a fire was burning,” they add, “but the fire cannot continue burning brightly unless there are sufficient resources that keep being replenished.”

The thing is, life can be a bit much sometimes—that’s no secret. But burnout is such an epidemic that the 2024 Global Talent Trends report by Mercer found that eight in 10 employees feel at risk of burnout.

So it’s really important to recognize the signs and learn how to recover from burnout. Brushing it off can lead to some dire consequences, not only for your health but also for your well-being and happiness.

Types of burnout

“Being burned out can show up in several different ways,” Liz explains to Mindvalley Pulse. It’s primarily associated with your job, or rather, the stress and overwhelm that come with it. But it could also be due to financial strain, parenting, or even personal relationships.

Here are a few types of burnout to note:

• Overload: You take on too many responsibilities and work excessively hard to meet unrealistic expectations.
• Under-challenged: You feel unfulfilled, bored, or undervalued.
• Neglect: You feel incompetent due to the lack of resources or support. 
• Interpersonal: Due to personal or work relationships, you feel emotionally drained by dealing with others.
• Creative: You lose inspiration, passion, and drive because there’s constant pressure to produce.

Whichever type of burnout you’re experiencing, know this: it’s a signal that something needs to change. 

What does burnout feel like?

Exhaustion is the main aspect of burnout. Then, there’s also…

• mental fatigue,
• emotional drain,
• loss of motivation,
• feeling overwhelmed,
• detachment and isolation, and
• a sense of failure.

To add to that list, severe cases of burnout can manifest in physical symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, or frequent illnesses.

That said, each person’s experience is different. For Jon, it was “a series of debilitating panic attacks.”

“I sunk into a generalized anxiety disorder, where I was on the verge of panic all day long for months in a row,” he says. “It got so bad, it developed into a full-blown agoraphobia.”

Jon’s case, of course, is on the extreme side of the spectrum. For Marianne Clyde, a Mindvalley member and CEO of Isn’t She Amazing, it was “feelings of frustration and anger and cynicism” as she struggled to take two non-profits through the pandemic (one of which survived).

“It got pretty intense,” she says. While she powered through 2021 and even created “the best 100-year gala” (in her opinion, anyway) for the surviving non-profit, she had lost faith in people and felt depleted emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

“At the end of that year, I just shut down,” she explains, convinced that she never wanted to do anything or see anyone again. “I ended up giving up my domain names and all things business-related. I isolated myself and just wanted to rest.”

The bottom line is, there’s more to burnout than simply feeling tired or stuck in life. It’s exhaustion and weariness on another level—relentless, pervasive, and unshakeable—and it can seep into every nook and cranny of your life.

Overcoming burnout: 4 expert tips

A lot of people learn how to deal with burnout—binge eating, self-medicating, revenge bedtime procrastination, going off the grid, and what have you. However, dealing with it and doing something about it are two different things.

Jon and Marianne both found ways to step away from their “I’ve had enough!” episodes—through Lifebook, with Jon creating it (“Lifebook literally came from my deepest pain”) and Marianne transforming her life through it.

So if you’re looking at how to fix burnout, perhaps tips from their Lifebook stories can inspire you.

1. Clarify your beliefs

When it comes to burnout prevention, it’s not about avoiding stress and overwhelm at all costs; that’s not realistic. Instead, it’s about managing stress effectively.

As Jon explains, “If my emotions are out of control, I can’t think clearly, which is going to have a negative effect on everything in my life. I have a hard time being productive, which is going to affect my career and my financial life. My character suffers. It hurts my parenting because I’m not setting a great example for my kids. Nothing works right if I’m experiencing angst, anxiety, depression, or overwhelm on a consistent basis.”

At its core, stress management is closely tied to your beliefs. What you believe shapes how you respond to challenges and how you prioritize different aspects of your life.

For instance, if you believe that success requires constant hustling, you might push yourself too hard and end up burned out. However, when you clarify what truly matters to you and what drives you, it becomes much easier to manage stress and make decisions that align with your goals and well-being.

What you can do: Go through the 12 categories of Lifebook and list your beliefs for each.

For Jon, career success means choosing work he loves, applying himself and getting really good at it, making significant contributions to the global community, and doing it all inside a financial model that works for him.

What would yours be? What would it be for the other areas of your life? Write them down.

2. Set clear goals

While beliefs are what matters to you, your goals are what you want. Interestingly, a study by the Dominican University of California found that people who write down their goals are 43% more likely to achieve them.

Goals provide direction and purpose. When you know what you’re working towards, it’s easier to stay focused and motivated.

This goal-setting framework was crucial for Marianne’s recovery. She says, “It helped me break down my life into manageable categories and create a specific plan for each category.”

As you track your progress, those measurable milestones become a source of reassurance that every step you take brings you closer to recovery.

What you can do: For each area of your life, list out the goals you want to accomplish.

For example, if you believe that success requires constant hustling, your goal to avoid or recover from burnout could be to delegate more tasks to your team. This would be a tremendous help in reducing your workload.

3. Align your purpose with your vision

The thing about burnout is that it’s easy to lose sight of why you’re doing what you’re doing, especially when your inner flame feels like it’s no longer alive and chaos ensues. However, reconnecting with your “why” can reignite your motivation and provide a clearer sense of direction.

What does this mean? Let’s say your vision is to build a career where you feel fulfilled and financially secure. Your purpose, then, could be contributing positively to others’ lives—people like Gretchen Rubin, Vishen, and Jon himself are prime examples of this approach.

For Marianne, aligning her purpose with her vision helped her revisualize her future, one category at a time. “It gave some shape to my life that had become chaotic and somewhat out of control.”

What you can do: Ask yourself, “What’s the deeper purpose behind my goal(s)?”

For instance, if your goal is to delegate tasks to your team, the purpose might be to free up some time for a little self-care, to spend with your family, or so you can pursue your passion.

In doing so, you can make sure that the steps you take are moving you closer to your goal, as well as aligning yourself with the bigger picture of what truly matters to you. 

4. Take steps to realize your vision

“What do you need to do to make [your vision] happen in your life?” This is the question Jon poses in the Mindvalley Quest, and it’s about taking the steps toward your vision.

For Marianne, she gradually re-engaged with the world through Lifebook courses after a period of rest and recovery. She eventually found herself inspired to start a new venture.

But here’s what you need to keep in mind: Taking steps toward your vision doesn’t mean you have to overhaul your life overnight. Instead, focus on consistent, intentional actions that bring you closer to your goals.

It’ll help you regain momentum and rebuild your life in a way that’s sustainable and fulfilling.

What you can do: Break your vision down into manageable steps. What are the small actions you can take today that align with your vision?

For example, if you’re looking at how to recover from burnout due to work, you might start by not checking your emails and messages first thing in the morning. Instead, you could use this time for mindfulness or exercise.

How long does it take to recover from burnout?

As with any health-related issue, the burnout recovery period varies from person to person. For some, it can take days or weeks. For others, like Jon, it could go on for months.

“In my opinion, there isn’t a specific timeline to recover from burnout,” says Liz. “The range can vary according to each person and their lifestyle and how severe their burnout is.”

However, if you’re wondering how to recover from burnout quickly, there are a few things she suggests you can do that may help speed up the process:

• Give yourself permission to slow down and prioritize self-care.
• Focus on identifying the main causes of your burnout.
• Create a plan to avoid falling into the same patterns again.

It’s also helpful to turn to friends and family for support. If you’re in need, it’s always advisable to seek professional help so you can find your way out of the darkness. Like Jon. And like Marianne.

Find your passion, ignite your path

The fact is, none of us are immune to burnout. But we can take the steps so that we don’t suffer from it.

That’s where the free Lifebook masterclass, How to Craft Your Own Extraordinary Life, can be of help. Guided by Jon Butcher and his wife, Missy, here’s what you’re in for:

• A powerful four-step framework to create a crystal-clear vision for all 12 areas of your life.
• How to overcome hidden obstacles, set aligned goals, and build a life that thrives in every area—without sacrificing what matters most to you.
• Practical tools to confidently make decisions that align with your true desires.

More than 700,000 people have transformed their lives through this proven process. And that includes Marianne Clyde:

“[Lifebook] renewed my hope that I could once again make an impact on the world, one day at a time. Shortly afterward, I started meeting with a friend who had also recently retired, and we began to discuss the needs of women after they retire. After about 10 months, I was feeling inspired again. After a year of healing, those conversations became a business, a TEDx talk, and ultimately a book [Supernova Woman: Reimagining Life After You Turn 50].”

You, too, can put that little “extra” in the ordinary. And it starts with your Lifebook at Mindvalley.

Welcome in.