I have to start by saying that mindfulness actually can’t solve academic burnout, not by itself. Burnout is your body’s way of telling you that you have expended too much energy in the wrong place: you’re in the wrong major, you’re doing it for the wrong reason, or maybe you just have no real end goal—you’re in school because you’re twenty and all your friends are in school and all you ever desire is to conform. For the rest of your life, in fact, you plan to simply look around and conform. Conforming is safe. You will never have to regret a decision if you never even make one. In the process, you forget what it feels like to be alive. You expend energy mindlessly, day after day, and are surprised when you are finally left with nothing.
The solution to burnout is realignment, and this can be achieved through mindfulness practices.
Identifying Core Values
Humans differ from animals in one fundamental way, which is our capacity to make moral judgments. We are all driven by an internal “moral compass” of sorts, and alignment occurs when a person allows their moral compass, their intuition, to guide them. When we enter society, we almost forget this. We begin to let society’s moral compass guide us, and this is a mistake. This is what leads to academic burnout!
So, how do we identify our own core values, once all sense of morality has been muddled by the general public? I asked my therapist this, and she suggested this website to me. “Pick what resonates,” she said. I sat down for a couple of hours, scrolled through, and thought really hard. I journaled a bit, but you can also meditate, or even just click around on Pinterest. Notice what excites you—what ignites your spark. Everyone has a spark. I eventually came up with my own list of 5: originality, intuition, openness, understanding, and autonomy.
In order to be “aligned,” you must begin to think of these values as needs. Consider them in your decision-making process, particularly when facing dilemma, and watch your life transform. This is the force that drives you, and if you do not honor that, you will begin to expend the wrong kind of energy… leading instead to burnout.
Implementing Mindfulness into Your Daily Routine
Alignment feels good, really good, but we are social beings with an inherent obligation to one another, and so it is easy to fall out of alignment. As we re-enter society and observe one another, we shift from confidence to uncertainty, and from indulgence to guilt. We begin to doubt the validity of our core values. I use the following daily practices to stay aligned with my own core values.
Vision Boarding
Once you have identified your core values, you must consider them practically in order to begin living your ideal lifestyle. My advice is to sit down with yourself and ask such questions as: “What kind of life do I need to lead, in order to be happy?” and “What would continuously fulfill me?”
Pour yourself a glass of wine, maybe two, and put on your favorite playlist. Take several hours to scroll through Pinterest, gathering photos that evoke an emotional response from you. When complete, this board should inspire you. This is why you work hard.
Look at your vision board twice a day, and meditate on one image at a time. Update the board as you evolve. This is the easiest way to stay aligned.
Journaling
Overwhelm marks the beginning stages of academic burnout, and you must learn to recognize it. This way, you can take a step back and avoid burning out completely.
Journaling is my personal favorite method of dealing with overwhelm. Essentially, I brain dump. Every thought that flits through my mind is written down, and within 30 minutes there is no more flitting. Now, all my thoughts are here, instead: my to-do list, my grocery list, reflections on any and all recent poor decisions, et cetera. I keep my journal close, and this way I am not responsible for holding my thoughts; my journal is. My only job is to think them.
Journaling can also aid in realignment. If you are feeling troubled by a particular task, do not hesitate to open your journal and talk yourself through why you have undertaken this task. Coax yourself into determination, using the reasons you originally had. In addition, do not be afraid to realign—to make different decisions now.
Transition Periods
This is the easiest mindfulness technique to implement, and it is arguably the most beneficial. Between items on your to-do list, intentionally take 3-5 minutes to consider your needs. If the activities being performed do not address your needs, you must reassess. If instinct says you can’t reassess, not now, reflect on that sense of urgency. See if you can find alignment there. Question it until you feel that you would rather be doing the task. Avoid mindless discipline.
For example, if I am between homework assignments, I will intentionally pause and ask my body what it needs. If I find that I am just thirsty, I will pour myself a glass of water. If, however, I find that I am thoroughly exhausted and would like a nap, I will consider the urgency of my next assignment. I will meditate on its urgency until I find it within myself to keep going. This is where your core values come into play. Consider them. What is it that you really, truly want your life to be? This is it, after all. This is life.
If I find that the assignment is not urgent, considering context as well as my values, I will nap. Otherwise, I will keep working. The key is identifying and acknowledging this exhaustion in the first place, rather than just plodding along until your mind, body, and soul collapse in on themselves!
Concluding Remarks
I have always assumed that I would just… end up at a job somewhere, someday. Kind of like how I just… ended up studying Business Administration at Cal Poly. It was the best school I had gotten into, and it was the major with the most options. My parents had both attended college; it was simply what I was supposed to do. Somehow, I had gone 20 years without ever making a single meaningful decision.
I was postponing choosing what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, and in that I was postponing my life. Working tirelessly for nothing, I eventually got burnt out. I stopped attending class, moved back home, and was put on academic probation. At only nineteen, I had fallen into a heavy depression. I considered dropping out of school altogether before switching my major to English even crossed my mind.
Mindfulness has transformed me. Now, I am constantly aware of who I am, what I want, and what I have to offer. I tire physically, but there is a light at the end of this tunnel—I’m going to be a writer!—and this excitement fuels me. I am able to keep chasing, because this is why I’m here. This is why I’m alive, or at least the closest to it that I have found. It feels the closest to it.
You must find your own light. Then, you too will be free.