Energy Vampires and Physician Burnout – stop the downward spiral
I recently heard that term for the first time on a popular online Physician Website. Energy Vampires are those patients (you know the ones) who seems to suck your life energy away every time you are near them.
What I found in my own career and with all of my clients is we are surrounded by Energy Vampires … and many of them are not in human form. These little energy suckers are everywhere, every day. Left unaddressed they can cause “death by 1000 paper cuts”. Here’s what I mean.
Think about your Personal Energy Level
as if it were a Bank Account
You always want to maintain a Positive Balance ... so that in the inevitable times when the energy vampires cause you to make an urgent withdrawal, there is something there to draw on. [Burnout is when your Energetic Bank Account is overdrawn ... and you have been sent to Collections!]
What things make a Deposit
into YOUR Energetic Bank Account?
And I am actually asking you to take a moment and answer that question … right now.
- What are the things that fill you up … give you energy … make you smile?
- Are you getting enough of those things to maintain a Positive Balance?
- What Energy Supplying activities can you put on your schedule in this next month so you can begin to Fill Your Tank?
- Get out your calendar and schedule them now … be prepared to defend them as well.
What things are ENERGY VAMPIRES for You?
There are certain patients that come to mind … right? You might want to discharge those folks from your practice – especially if you are unable to form a therapeutic relationship with them.
AND what about the other energy vampires that suck your energy away?
- What is it that really fries your bacon … gets so totally on your nerves … drives you crazy?
- AGAIN – make a list here. Energy Vampires don’t have to always take human form. And here is the next question.
- What can you do to minimize the effect of your own Personal Energy Vampires?
Are these activities you can
- delegate
- outsource
- batch and do quickly and all-at-once
- take a big breath and let go of completely
- What else might you do so that you lose as little energy as possible?
The Bigger Perspective
- Your Ultimate Energy Source
Underneath the day-to-day ebb and flow of your personal energy is an interplay of your core Needs and Values.
– Your Energy Balance Increases when your Needs are met and your Values Honored
– Your Energy Balance Decreases when your Needs are not met and your Values are violated
One of the core exercises I share with my clients as we design more joy and satisfaction into their lives … is a detailed exploration of Your Core Needs and Values. Once you understand them clearly, you can design a life and work environment that meets them automatically, keeps your energy bank account in a healthy balance and can withstand the attack of occasional energy vampires.
You can get a good head start on this Satisfaction By Design Process using the lists you generated above.
- Get more of those things that you know are energy rechargers
- Mitigate against the effects of the Energy Vampires you are already aware of
- Pay attention to the balance in your Energy Bank Account and keep some reserves in place
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PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT and tell us your favorite tactic for dealing with energy vampires.