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High Performer’s Top 4 Work Complaints & How to FIX Them

High performers are naturally fulfilled and engaged in their work. It’s why they excel and work in ways that other team members can’t.

You can’t make or train a person to become a high performer. Workers are high performers or they aren’t. So replacing a high performer is costly to every company.

High performers are internally driven by something I call their Success Wound, which is their energetic drive to do more, impact more, and even create more. The problem is that the Success Wound can drive them to burnout, which directly impacts their health, their team and the company.

I created my Success Wound™ training in 2019 after working with high performers for almost 2 decades. Some like to blame the high performer for overworking while others like to blame the work environment. My experience and the polls I’ve done show that it’s BOTH.

A work environment can definitely encourage and aid in a high performer overworking.

Having company wellness in house that high performers don’t have time to use isn’t company wellness.

But if you have a high performer in a company that implements the changes when I work with their teams to create sustainable success and work-life balance, you create workplace wellness in that team.

When you have workplace wellness, you create a work environment that is supportive and in tune with the needs of your top talent.

High Performer’s 4 TOP Work Complaints and How to FIX Them

Are any of these happening in your company?

Complaint 1 : No Time and Energy In or Out of Work

This is a problem at first for people outside the company – friends, family spouses. When I used to offer meditation at 5 star spas, the spouses would complain about the overworking and how it affected them. This will eventually affect your high performer and possibly their performance at work as they are encouraged to have a life outside the office at another company.

Work-life balance is necessary to retain your top talent.

You may think it’s great that they’re always available and working whenever you ask them to – but this is a path to turnover and burnout.

Result when I work with your team: I help your team create sustainable work-life balance to keep your people happy and reduce stress. A happy life will affect your high performers in and out of work. This is how they recharge and stay creative and productive.

Complaint 2: Toxic Work Environment

Toxic work environments are typically caused by leaders, directors and managers. Who is sending the messages and emails AFTER company hours? Who expects the team to respond to those requests and what happens if they don’t? Who is giving them more to do than is possible in their job title and position stated work hours?

Do you offer workplace wellness programs in house but your high performers can’t access it because their work load is too full? Or are they afraid to take advantage of it because they know when lay offs come, they’ll be let go for trying to have a more balanced work-life? Or is your workplace wellness a waste of their time because it’s not helpful to them?

Work fires unnecessarily increase stress and drama in the workplace.

Is there always a FIRE? All of these things add to a toxic work environment which eventually leads to your top talent taking their skills to another company to get a better title and compensation.

Result when I work with your team: I support your team with healthy boundaries and clear communication to foster successful relationships. This creates an environment where your team thrives and you become a place that people want to work at. You want this!!

Complaint 3: Overwhelmed and Exhausted

This is what happens when your team members continually run on empty with time and energy. Often this happens when you are short staffed and your high performers have to pick up even more work. Or when you’re on another tight deadline and this must be done immediately plus their other roles and resposnsibilities.

You do not want your top talent overwhelmed and exhausted. This means they have been under stress for too long.

Overworking is what high performers are TAUGHT to do.

When your high performers start getting sick and are out with injuries and surgeries – this is your big red flag to do something differently now. This is when they start to re-evaluate their work and career, I’ve seen it many times.

Result when I work with your team: I support your team by giving them tools to improve happiness, retention and engagement. They end up thriving and in roles that they love in your company.

Complaint 4: Not Feeling Satisfied or Fulfilled in Role

High performers get bored when the work is too repetitive or unfulfilling.

They lack fulfillment when they’re not feeling appreciated or they’re tired of feeling stressed out all the time.

High performers are naturally fulfilled and engaged in their work. It’s why they excel and work in ways that other team members can’t.

How is appreciation showed at your company?

If your high performers are checking out and doing less than normal or making mistakes atypical to them, this is a big red flag for you that they may not be staying with your company much longer.

Result when I work with your team: I give your team effective and time efficient practices to feel fulfilled so they are more present, focused and engaged with the team. As they thrive, the whole company feels that impact.

What are the problem areas in your company?

High performers are your most valuable team members. They get tasks done, they go above and beyond and they thrive in the right team environments. What needs to be done for your high performers to stay and thrive?

3 Tips to KEEP Your High Performers Engaged

It’s the holiday season and end of the year. How is your high performance team doing?

Most CEOs and founders don’t know the real answer, even if they THINK they do. There is no cookie cutter process or formula that works with high performers because they’re driven for different reasons.

This becomes a problem because you don’t know if your high performers are staying or leaving.

The truth for most high performers is that they want to STAY.

They don’t want to be bothered with all that changing jobs requires. They will stay until they feel like they have to go. Often when they leave they’re beyond done with the company.

I am a high performer that has experienced burnout twice in my career. I can recognize an overworked high performer immediately and give them practical tips and tools to help them prevent burnout and stress leave.

3 Tips to Keep Your High Performers Engaged

High performers change jobs when:

1. Their Title and Compensation are not in Alignment with their Results

Compensation is as equally important to a high performer as their title is. If you don’t compensate them AND give them the correct title for the work they do for you, they will eventually take their experience to another company that will.

Overworking is NOT a long term solution for anyone on the team.

I cannot stress this enough – the #1 tip to keep you high performer engaged is to make sure their job title accurately describes the work they do and the compensation equals the work they do.

If you really like the drive of a high performer on your team, tell them. Give them bonuses or extra PTO time. Make sure that your high performers know that they are valuable to your company and that you appreciate them.

I can’t tell you how many high performers leave because of compensation and title alone. Make sure your people are taken care of and that will give them a reason to stay.

2. The Work Environment is Unrealistically Demanding

This is the fastest way to drive your high performer to some sort of medical or stress leave or burnout.

If a high performer complains, LISTEN. If they’re complaining, they’re done.

Just because your high performers CAN get things done on a deadline does not mean to keep them in constant deadlines.

If you need to hire more people, hire more people. If you have a high performer that’s doing the job of 2 or more people, make sure that you compensate them for performing the multiple roles in a company.

The more stressful your work environment, the more likely that your high performance team won’t be as high performing as you’d like.

Stressful environments are ones that encourage long hours and heavy workloads. No worker is meant to function in a stressful environment long term.

This will directly affect your current team members as well as word getting out that you overwork your top talent. It’ll make both hiring and retention difficult.

3. They’re not Fulfilled or Engaged with the Work Anymore

Why do you care if they’re fulfilled or engaged? Their productivity drops and often times, they’re looking for another job.

You don’t want your high performers checked out. If they start doing less, they’re done.

What do you do as the leader?

If a high performer is bored, it’s time for a new title and compensation package that matches their experience and skill level. High performers don’t get bored unless the work is too repetitive or unfulfilling.

Or it could also mean that either they’re not feeling appreciated or they’re tired of feeling stressed out all the time.

High performers are naturally fulfilled and engaged in their work. It’s why they excel and work in ways that other team members can’t.

And just a reminder that you can’t make a high performer. Workers are high performers or they aren’t. So replacing a high performer is costly to every company.

What changes need to be made in your workplace?

What are you seeing and noticing with your high performers?

If you think, oh I have workplace wellness in place and your high performers are NOT taking advantage of it – that’s a problem. WHY aren’t they taking advatage of that, especially when they’re told this is to prevent burnout?

If you need help, schedule a call with me to see how we can increase retention, productivity and have a happy team.

All of these are easy fixes. Make them and they will happily stay.

4 Signs Your High Performers are on a Path to Burnout

What are the signs your high performers aren’t doing “okay” at work anymore?

How close are they to burnout?

The work environment is a big part of how much your high performers will overwork.

Is overworking encouraged with:

Questions and meetings outside of work hours?

Not encouraging them to take true vacations and uninterrupted time off from work? Work travel on weekends?

Giving them more work than they can humanly handle?

Support questions they don’t answer honestly as they continue to overwork to try to make a dent in their workload?

None of these are good and will lead high performers onto a path to burnout. No one wants that.

As a Spiritual Medium and Energy Strategist, I have personally experienced burnout twice in my career. I let myself down, my team and my family.

Burnout, stress leave and constantly being overworked are completely preventable with the right support. I can help.

I’m going to share with you the 4 signs I’ve personally noticed that tells me a High Performer is starting to check out and burnout. Let’s dive in!

4 Signs Your High Performers are on a Path to Burnout:

High performers aren’t known to do these things, so if they are, they are your warning signs.

1. They Start Using their PTO

High performers typically lose PTO from not using it. If they’re starting to use it, while that is good, do a solid check in on them and make sure they’re doing okay. This is your first red flag as an employer.

I had a client that started using her PTO to extend weekends and for job interviews. You want to check in immediately if you see this change.

Most high performers DO NOT want to leave. They will stay if they are compensated accurately for their work, given the correct title for the work they are performing daily and have a proper workload for their role.

2. Getting Sick or Injured Often

I see this one all the time. Often the only way a high performer gets to rest is if they get sick or injured. It was true for me and it’s true for your high performers that don’t have support. While these aren’t things they do intentionally, these are things that take them down.

I had a client this year that had to have a double knee surgery. On top of that, she kept getting sick with everything from Covid to Sinus Infections and then had complications from both surgeries. All of which made her frustrated because she couldn’t work.

She was the definition of overworked. As she started to realize rest was key to her healing with me, she started to find ways to recharge on the weekend instead of working more. Both knees are now healed. But she was given a lot of physician ordered time off in the process. She didn’t even get to have fun. All she did was heal.

Think of work-life balance as an energy balance for your high performers. Their energy is measured like the battery on a cell phone. The less energy they have, the more they’re performing on a deficit. Eventually they’re going to have to STOP and recharge. You don’t want that.

3. Performance Decrease

There is a point where the high performer realizes that doing more isn’t the answer because they keep getting more to do. The list doesn’t end and the pile keeps growing, often more than other team members.

They feel overwhelmed, exhausted and at their breaking point – these are their words by the way. This is when you’ll notice them missing deadlines, performing less and caring less about what they’re getting done. These are all really bad signs if you want to keep this top employee.

When high performers start to drop the ball or decline new assignments, chances are they are in the process of accepting a new position somewhere else. This happens because they’ve already decided to leave your company and they are starting to guide their energy into the excitement of the new position and company.

If you discuss the performance decrease with them and they are not seeking out a new position, be wary that they are on a path to stress leave or burnout – both are bad for everyone on their team.

4. High Performers START Asking for Support

High performers should ask for support often when their workload isn’t manageable. But they don’t. They work longer hours, start doing stuff on the weekend and before you know it, they’re working more hours than many of their team members on their path to burnout.

Asking for help or support is often a high performer’s last ditch effort to stay in the company or in the position. When they start to ask for support when they never have before – this needs to become your top priority to support them.

I know because I’ve been helping them individually for decades and this is one of the things I have them start to do before they start to look for employment elsewhere. If your high performer is asking for support, stop overloading them with more tasks and find help for them on the team immediately if you want to keep this employee.

Work-life balance is the only way forward to creating sustainable success and work-life balance. You want your employees to have both of these things to retain them.

When you tell me sustainable work-life balance isn’t possible, I’m going to help your team find that belief and change it. Burnout and stress leave are completely preventable. Support your high performers with individualized support – I can guarantee you, they need it.

The Top 4 Stressors in the Workplace & What to DO

Stress is a workplace problem that isn’t disappearing. Why is that and what’s causing it?

Is it:

The inability to find more good workers to help with the workload?

Giving more work to high performers than they can manage and not being aware that they’re overwhelmed and overworked?

Or is it having the wrong support in place that is generic and ineffective for your team?

I find that it’s all the above. How about you?

All these things create more stress in the workplace. More stress in the workplace creates burnout, stress leave and employee turnover.

According to WebMD: 75% to 90% of all doctor’s office visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints.

That’s an insane number of doctor’s office visits for stress and it’s completely preventable.That means that getting control over the stress in the workplace is a #1 priority.
This isn’t work for just the high performers to do single handedly- there is work to be done with the team and leaders as well. It’s a company problem.

How is stress regularly created in your workplace?

These are the things you want to stop doing immediately in the workplace. They create stress which leads to all the issues you want to prevent.

1. Stop Having IMPOSSIBLE Workloads and Deadlines

If you keep assigning deadlines and tasks aren’t getting completed by your high performers – this is your sign that their workload is out of balance – even if they haven’t told you yet. This will create a tremendous amount of stress for them.

And note that if high performers start setting boundaries around what you’re giving them to do – you’re in the danger zone as an employer.

2. Short Staffed

I hear a lot of companies are still short staffed. I know, it takes time to hire key players but what are you doing to your staff in the meantime? How long can they continue to overwork like this? How are you supporting them so they can still be with you when you hire the key players you’re looking for?

And in the meantime, where does that money go that they isn’t being payed to the staff you don’t have? Here’s a big tip for you – give your staff that is picking up the slack: extra PTO time, a raise, a promotion, a team retreat or the support they need in the organization to continue to thrive. There’s a lot of things that can be done, just make sure you’re doing something before you have a bigger problem on your hands – like their resignation letters.

3. Giving More Work to High Performers than Other Workers

Does this happen on your team? An excessive workload is the #1 cause of burnout. Who gets more work? You know this – the high performers of course. Why – because you know they’ll get it done at some point.

But do you know at what cost to them and how this impacts the team? This is a huge stress factor so think before you give your top performers more to do – who else can do this. Only give them what they need to do.

Supported high performers are the most consistent performers and they thrive.

4. Unresolved Conflict

Ignoring any work conflict leads to worse team performance. As a high performer who has worked for some big name corporations – you want to stay on top of resentment among the team for those that collect their paycheck while doing the bare minimum.

While low performers eventually are terminated, think about the issues they’re causing the team, more importantly your high performers while they are there.

High performers are an asset because they get more done than other workers. But of course this causes bitterness and irritation between the team members that are performing and the ones who aren’t.

Who are the high performance mooches – as I like to call them – in your organization? How is their workload and compensation compared to your high performers? It better not be the same if you want to retain them.

Stress in the workplace doesn’t increase productivity, morale or employee retention.

You don’t want your employees to be stressed, yet most companies have employees feeling the stress for months if not longer.

Stress isn’t simply reduced in the workplace by introducing yoga, meditation or breath work without addressing the problems above. Your employees are going to ROLL their eyes and be more irritated.

They don’t have time. This is your biggest problem and their biggest stressor.

To reduce stress in your workplace, you want to decrease the stress you give to your employees and give them customized and personalized tools to decrease the stress they physically take on. I can help you with this.

Stop ignoring the stress in your workplace because it does end up costing you your top performers who are difficult to replace.

Now that you know what the top 4 stressors are in the workplace, I hope you are ready to take action to make them disappear. Feel free to share this article with your team and if you’re ready for support, book a call with me to see how I can help you in “The Successful High Performer Program™.”

What is Driving High Peformers to Overwork?

Do you hit a work goal and move immediately onto the next one?

Are you driven to succeed but find yourself unfulfilled no matter how much success you reach?

Is your overworking making you feel bitter and resentful as it takes a toll on your personal life?

As a high performer, you push yourself hard at work and you get things done. You set goals and move quickly onto the next one. You’re a rockstar at work until you start to feel unfulfilled, bitter and resentful.

Have you stopped and asked what are you proving to yourself and to others through your work? Most of my clients didn’t…until they realized that how they were working was no longer sustainable and they were on a path to burnout.

What I’ve found through my decades working with high performers is that this drive may have gotten you to the level of success you have today BUT it’s no longer working. Now it’s pushing you on an endless journey of overworking and overachieving…without enjoying the success you’ve created. This leads you to feeling exhausted, overwhelmed and stuck in a vicious cycle that feels pointless at this point in your life. I mean, you are successful. You just don’t feel like you are.

It’s time for sustainable success AND work-life balance.

I discovered years ago that what is driving you to your breaking point is what I call your Success Wound. I’ve created Success Wound™ offers that are trainings, workshops, programs and retreats because there is no cookie cutter solution to healing a high performer’s Success Wound. Let’s dig in…

What is YOUR Success Wound?

Your Success Wound is your energetic drive for more.

No matter how much money and success are in your life, it’s not enough. It keeps you from enjoying your life and drives you to continually achieve.

It’s your constant push and drive for more. More, more, more.

It leaves you feeling unfulfilled and stuck in a vicious cycle that will lead you to burnout or stress leave if left in charge.

Where did Your Success Wound come from?

It starts in your childhood. You either come in with this belief and it makes no sense to anyone that knows you. OR you learned it from family, teachers, experiences and friends when you were little and you’re still carrying that with you today. This is why I call it a wound. It’s a deep, energetic drive that is driving you to prove yourself.

Your Success Wound HAD a purpose. It did drive you and got you to where you are today. But now your Success Wound is preventing you from ENJOYING your success in and out of work.

The continual drive for more is no longer exciting or working for you. Instead it’s keeping you from feeling like you actually do have it all.

What is the energy of your Success Wound?

Your Success Wound is what energetically drives you and it shows up as proving yourself.

I’ve discovered in all my work with high performers in over twenty years, that you’re proving at least one of three things. I am worthy. I am enough. I am love. – it can be any combination of these things. 1 -2 – or all 3. Typically it’s two things.

Also, most high performers don’t feel supported, which just fuels the Success Wound.

I have a high performing client that reached 7 figures in her business last year. Her response as she was crying – I thought I would hit this milestone and feel like I did it. I made it. But nothing feels different.

My response – you won’t feel successful when your Success Wound is still in charge. And it was. We’ve since then created a way for her to create sustainable success, have work-life balance and she has the tools to continue to heal layers of her Success Wound when it appears.

How long does it take to heal your Success Wound?

My training on the Success Wound™ is at a minimum an hour to help you know the root of what’s driving you. In my programs, we spend time healing it and as it’s in layers, layers will appear at different times for you to heal.

It isn’t going to be an automatic release. It’s deep. It’s been in charge for decades if not longer.

It’s how you operate. It’s how you work, it’s ingrained in your energy, responses, your relationships, your goals and your dreams. It’s why you overachieve and it impacts all areas of your life.
So we obviously can’t get to the root of your Success Wound here but ask yourself what is driving you to do more, make more, achieve more? I’ll also give you a video to do some energy work to start to heal it. And here’s a video I did years ago that tells you more about how I discovered the Success Wound.

How are you proving that you’re enough in your work? Or worthy? Or love?

Who told you that you weren’t these things? That you had to do more?

Where does that come from? How long have you been doing it? Do you still want to do it?

Who else do you know that over achieves? And to help you look at your situation more objectively, what does their life look like right now? That’s always a great way to get clarity on what you want to do more or less of in your life. Do you want your life to be like theirs?

Your Success Wound started in your childhood. Some of you came in with those beliefs. Regardless of how yours started, it’s layered into your energy and it comes out as an overachieving, high performer that doesn’t feel supported and overworks. And if you stay on this course, it will lead you to your breaking point.

Once you know what you’re proving, you can recognize it and pivot in the moment.

What does your Success Wound look like at work? How does it affect your personal life? What do you want to do differently?

Hitting your breaking point is not a badge of honor.

There is no reward for burnout. Or overworking. Or feeling bitter and resentful about your work.

While the Success Wound is what drives you to overwork, if you put yourself in a work environment that takes advantage of your overworking – that is a fast recipe for stress leave or burnout. Know what drives you so you can stop proving it. No one believes it when you try to prove it anyhow. Stop overworking. It’s not good for you or your work.

How to STOP & Reduce Your Work Stress

Have you been told to reduce your work stress?

You’re not alone. Stress has increased in the workplace.The total economic impact of stress to US employers was estimated at $300 billion according to The American Institute of Stress.

Stress is a big problem that affects all areas of your life, not just work. Most people will ignore it and keep pushing through until a health issue arises but it doesn’t have to be that way.

There are a lot of things you can do to reduce your stress: meditate, exercise, take deep breaths, get the sleep you need at night, eat better and so much more.

These are all also good things to do regularly to help keep you from bringing the stress into your body. Which is what I’d like you to do. STOP the stress from coming into your body and your energy.

Understand Your Stress to STOP & Reduce it

1. Pay attention to what makes you feel stressed.

I’m sure it’s going to involve work and probably some family members. Maybe even money. Those are usually the top three culprits.What makes you agitated, nervous, etc. What makes you feel stressed? You have to identify what starts the stress within you so you can stop it.

2. Notice HOW the stress makes you feel.

Obviously, not good, right? You may feel overwhelmed, anxious, jittery, like you can’t stop moving. How does the stress make you feel? Again, you want to recognize what it feels like so you can stop it.

Once you know these two things:

I want you to know when you are in situations that make you feel stressed and how that stress feels so you can stop it before you energetically let the stress into your being. – I bet you haven’t heard that before!!

Stress is an energy. It’s a pattern. It’s familiar. It’s energetically how you tuck things away that you can’t or don’t want to deal with in the moment. But you store it in your body and it creates physical ailments and diseases.

An example of letting the stress in:

Let’s say you get another task at work with another deadline you can’t possibly complete in time with your workload. This will make you feel stressed. You don’t have the time, energy or bandwidth to take this on. You then move into feeling the stress. You may feel overwhelmed, you may want to give up, you may feel panicked at telling your partner or friends you can’t hang out again because you have to work more and you start dreading their response. I’ve seen that a lot.

In this very common example the stressor was more work with an unrealistic deadline. The stress felt overwhelming.

What can you do instead?

Prevent the stressor.

By knowing what makes you stressed, you can create boundaries and plans to help you when the stressor appears. My clients are high performers and when more work is given to them when they’re already overbooked, overworked and on tight time schedules, instead of stepping into the stress cycle and taking it on when they know it’s not possible will create a boundary.

“I’m sorry. There is no way I can complete this by this deadline. I have this task due by this date, and this task due by this date. In order to take this on AND complete it on time, who can take on one of my other tasks or help me with this workload?”

It will feel weird at first, but this is how changes go. And your employer – they have NO idea how overwhelmed or overworked you feel if you don’t tell them HONESTLY. They need to know. They don’t want you out on worker’s comp for stress leave or leaving because you’re too overworked. Tell them.

What to do when you don’t PREVENT the stressor:

By knowing what your stressors are you can prevent them. If you take the stressor on and start to feel the stress, you have to let the stress go. It’s an energy that you don’t need to carry.

How to let the stress go:

Close your eyes, bring in the White Light through your body and imagine letting the energy of the stress go into the light. I took this task on and I shouldn’t have. I release the energy I am now carrying from that. I am free. And then refill your energy with a soft blue light. I am peace. I am calm. I am balance.

Your key to success is to not let the stressor bring the stress feeling into your body and energy in the first place. You do that with boundaries and having a plan in place to protect your time and energy.

The more boundaries and plans you create, the less stress you’ll feel. And then you can stop letting stress control your body, feelings, emotions, time, relationships and more.

There is no badge of honor for feeling or carrying stress. It negatively impacts all areas of your life. That’s why the best way forward for you is to stop it before it starts AND to catch the stress when you’re letting that energy into your body.

7 Tips to Have MORE Energy to Get Through Your Workday

Do you hit a dip in your energy at work every day at 3:00? You probably even wake up feeling low energy.

As a high performer that has a tendency to overwork, you’re typically spending more energy than you’re replacing each day.

Think about your energy like you do any of your batteries.

At some point, you stop using the device so it can get a full recharge. When do you do that for your body? And the more important question – when do you let yourself FULLY recharge?

I know what it’s like to overwork and run below empty. I’ve reached my breaking point twice in my career overworking as a high performer. I guide my high performing clients to create sustainable work/life balance in their lives.

7 Tips to Have More Energy to Get Through Your Workday

As you go through this list, note what is the most important to you AND what you don’t think is a priority as well.

1. Have a start time for your workday.

Everyday have a set time or a moment where you actually start working. This should not be when you first wake up. Be intentional when you wake up so you create a calm and balanced start to your day that can only make your productivity even better during your work day.

I have a client that woke up and started thinking about work. She was EXHAUSTED. Now she has a set start day each day and this has been a game changer for her in her productivity and energy levels.

2. Take your breaks.

You are not given breaks to work through them. Obviously if you’re on a roll and knocking things out, that’s not the best time to take a break. BUT when you find yourself getting tired, your mind starts wandering, you’re hungry, need to go to the bathroom, etc. use that time to take a break. Breaks allow you to recharge, reassess what you’re working on and create better results. Take them!

Most of my clients don’t take breaks before working with me. I get it! You get things done and more things appear. There are more things to do than time. But you’re a human, your body cannot sit at the computer for too long – plus your productivity goes down. Breaks are good.

Go for a quick walk. Stop and smell the flowers. Go outside for a minute. Whatever you do – take your breaks!

3. Eat your lunch WITHOUT working.

The majority of my clients either skip lunch altogether and find themselves eating junk at 3 o’clock or they work through lunch.

If you take your lunch break and work through it – you have a working lunch which is okay once in awhile but not everyday.

Lunch is a time to fuel your body, recharge, reassess your day and reprioritze tasks when you come back from lunch with a fresh perspective.

4. Have an end time for your workday.

Having an end time for your workday is essential so you STOP working. If you don’t do this, you’ll find yourself working weird hours and when you shouldn’t be. I can’t tell you the last time I had a client start working with me that had a STOP time on their workday.

What you don’t finish today, you can do tomorrow or another day. You are here for more than your work. Plus when you stop working, you give yourself time to play, recharge, relax, etc and that allows you to come back to work the next day more productive.

It doesn’t matter if the end time is the same everyday or set on certain days. Have an end time. This will help you prevent burnout.

5. Do at least one thing everyday that brings you joy.

I know this is hard for my high performers to even bring to mind when asked what brings them joy, but it’s very necessary. What are you working so hard for?

Again, you are here for more than your work. When work is your hyper focus, it’s hard to know what outside of work would bring you joy or happiness but in order to have work-life balance, there must be a life part happening.

Try new things, do things that make you happy. Play. Have something to do other than work outside your work hours. Give yourself something to look forward to – that’ll help you stop working.

6. Get enough sleep at night.

One of the big areas my high performers try to make up on time is by skipping sleep. As you know, the more sleep you get, the better you feel, the better you respond, the more productive you are.

One of my clients would read instead of sleep once the kids and husband were in bed. It was her time to do something for just her. The problem – she wasn’t getting the sleep she needed at night. The book would pull her in and she’d be up way later than she wanted to be and she was exhausted the next day. That affected her patience, her productivity and was an old pattern she was done repeating. Now she has the tools to get to bed at a time that supports her AND normal hours to read and do things just for her.

Sleep is a great way to recharge your body. Don’t skimp on this. Especially since lack of sleep can add to stress, something else you’re trying to reduce.

7. Make self care a priority.

One of my favorite ways to recharge and reset – out in nature.

Self care is HOW you recharge. This is what stops you from feeling overworked, overwhelmed and exhausted.

I find that a lot of high performers don’t know what counts as self-care. I define it as an activity that gives you energy. It has nothing to do with work or taking care of anyone or anything else. It is purely for you to recharge your energy.

Getting your hair or nails done while checking messages or emails is not going to count. Going for a walk without checking on anything work related does count.

Ideally, I’d love for you to implement every tip I just went over immediately. But I am very realistic since I work with very busy high performers. I’d love for you to pick one thing from this list and start doing that tomorrow. Tell me what you’re going to do tomorrow below, I’m holding you accountable.

Now look at what you didn’t think was a priority from the list above and dive deep and ask yourself why that isn’t a priority for you.

Every tip I gave you is very realistic and every high performer I work with is doing every single one of these things and noticing a huge difference in their lives.

Remember, overworking does not give you more energy. It spends your energy, no matter how much you love your work. The more energy you overuse each day, the less energy you start off with the next morning. This continues to compound until you reach your breaking point or until you burnout. Burnout is completely preventable.

Am I an Empath? What is an Empath & How it Affects You

I feel everything. I am highly sensitive and the people I’m around drain me. Am I an Empath?

This is a very popular question.

Claiming to be an empath right now seems to give you permission to get stuck in exhaustion and overwhelm by picking up on everyone’s energy without any support or boundaries – but it doesn’t have to be that way.

As a Spiritual Medium, I personally feel the energy of the people around me as if it’s my own energy. It allows me to balance and align your energy BUT I’m always on. I have to be able to function in society and so do you.

If I’m always on and have found a way to stop absorbing all the energies of everyone and everything around me – so can you.

If you’re busy absorbing and feeling all the feels of everyone around you – then you don’t have the energy to make yourself a priority and this video is for you.

First of all, YES. You are an empath. Every single person is an empath. Some people are just more open than others. Some people have shut off their empathic abilities because they were too overwhelming to deal with or because of something that has happened and they don’t want to feel it all anymore.

Now that you know that you ARE an empath, What is an empath?

The definition of an empath from Oxford Languages is: a person with the paranormal ability to apprehend the mental or emotional state of another individual.

An empath has the intuitive ability to pick up on the energy of others that are around you. You’ll know how they’re feeling, what energy they’re giving off and if you want to be around them or not. Every living thing on the Earth gives off energy and as humans, you have the ability to read that energy.

The best examples of being an empath are when you can meet someone and know if you like them or not. You can walk into a room of strangers and know who you want to sit with and who you don’t. You can look at someone and know if they’re in a good space or if they’re in a bad space.

You are an energetic being reading the energy around you. But just because you can read it doesn’t mean you have to take it on. You can just read it.

As an empath, You do not have to personally take on all the energy and let it affect you.

Remember this – you are made up of energy. And because you are made up of energy, you are able to read the energy of every living thing and the energy every living thing has given off. Even though you can read the energy, that doesn’t mean you have to do anything with the energy.

As you know, I’m a Spiritual Medium and I LIVE in energy all day, everyday. I have no off switch. Everywhere I go, I’m able to read people’s energy, their past lives, their fears, patterns, beliefs and so much more and I’ve been doing this my whole entire life. I know that what I experience is even more heightened than most people but you won’t ever see me ever walking around saying, “Oh my gosh, I’m so exhausted I’m an empath and I take on all the energy around me.”

I learned a long time ago that just because I can read someone’s energy, doesn’t mean I should. Especially if I’m not working with them and I don’t have their permission to help them. Most people don’t want to be helped. They want to be as they are, even if they’re complaining.

I realized decades ago that if I take on someone else’s energy, I just doubled the energy. Let that sink in. When have you picked up on someone’s energy and still had it after seeing them?

If you take on someone else’s energy, you’re carrying that weight for them. You took on their energy. They will get out of your energy by leaving your space and they’ll actually look around for their baggage – the stuff you just picked up from them to “help them out”. They’ll realize something is missing and they want their baggage back. It’s theirs. It’s like a comfy sweater to them – until it’s not and they’re ready to let it go. The moment they put their baggage back on, the energy has now DOUBLED. You have it and they have it.

How did the energy double?

This is really important for you to be aware of.

When they took their energy back, you were still carrying it. You took it on as your own to “help” them without their permission. You didn’t consciously give the energy back to them. Most likely, you didn’t do a thing with the energy except pick it up and carry it and now you’re just feeling the weight of it. So in that moment, the energy doubled. You made a conscious choice to hold the energy for them for whatever reason. They wanted it back so they pulled the energy back to them instantly. Instantly. But you’re not aware of this and so you’re also still holding it because you made a decision to carry that energy for them.

Now, both of you are carrying this energy unconsciously. They’re fine with the weight of the energy they’re carrying but you’re not. You struggle carrying it because it isn’t yours. You have your own weight that you carry, that you think of as your own comfy sweater. From an energy standpoint, your baggage is your sweater and the baggage you just took on from someone else is a backpack that sits on top of your sweater.

It’s too much. You will feel the weight of the energy. It will lead you to feeling overwhelmed, exhausted and stuck. And this is an example of your encounter with just one person.

Imagine going into Costco the week of a major holiday and all the backpacks you carry unintentionally. Or think about the energy you’d pick up after a day at an amusement park or a crowded venue. It’s too much. You cannot keep picking up other people’s baggage. It doesn’t serve you. It actually slows you down and holds you back.

You can READ the energy without picking up and carrying the energy. You can notice that they feel off, sad or that they’re struggling. Most people are struggling and that’s ok. That is what they are choosing to do and until they choose to do something differently, you cannot help them.

Being an empath does not mean you have to be exhausted. It means that you have to be consciously aware of the energy you are allowing into your energy space. You have to be picky. You can’t just allow any energy into your space and if you do, you have to know how to not let it affect you.

Being an empath is not new.

What is new is talking about energy and that you can pick up on or read someone else’s energy.

Yes you are an empath. You have the ability to sense energy. Everybody does. What’s important is are you picking up everyone’s energy just because you can? When you do this, you want to ask yourself, why are you allowing your energy to get entangled and pulled down with the energy around you. Remember – this does not support you or help them. It hurts you.

Start paying attention to what you’re allowing into your energy space.

I cannot tell you how many people come up to me telling me they are exhausted and overwhelmed from everyone else’s energy. But what this tells me is that you need boundaries around HOW you’re using your energy.

Here are some good boundaries for you going forward:

1. You can read other’s energy and not do anything with it. It isn’t yours to handle anyhow.

2. If someone doesn’t ask you for help, they probably don’t want help. If you offer to help someone and they don’t want it, that’s fine. Respect that they don’t need help and you can let them be in their experience as they would like to be.

3. Do NOT carry other people’s energy. It doesn’t help them and it hurts you. It doubles the energy and you don’t want to double negative energy anymore.

Focusing on other people’s energy is a distraction for you. It keeps you from having the time and energy to do the things you really want to do.

How do you KNOW if you are taking on someone else’s energy?

The key is to catch it in the moment. To feel yourself FEELING their energy. It will lower your energy vibration. It’s like using any of your devices, when you start to drain the device, the energy will lower. The same is true for you.

Instead of saying I’m an empath, I feel all the feels and it’s exhausting. Know that you can be an empath and be grounded and balanced no matter what is happening around you. You can be better at your work and relationships because you can tell that someone is off or in a good place. You can read the energy without having to do anything with the energy. This will allow you to stay focused on what you need to do.

I hope you will listen to the tips I gave you in this to help you reclaim your energy as an empath.

From Stressed to Thriving: Getting to the ROOT of Your Stress

What stresses you out? (You know this!)

What do you DO about it? (Typically nothing – but… you could really use a vacation to reset.) But going on vacation isn’t a change. Sometimes it’s a break from the grind, but often you’re still working on vacation or thinking about it. And when you come back from your getaway – you go right back to doing the same thing. Being stressed!

This is the problem – you know what causes you stress and you keep doing the same thing. Hopefully you don’t expect a different result because if you don’t make a change, nothing changes.

While you can justify all the stress in your life that’s negatively affecting everything, there will come a time when you can’t. Where this isn’t working anymore. It’s what I call your breaking point.

Stress leads to overwhelm, anxiety, exhaustion, health problems and burn out. It hurts you and your relationships. You know this, but you have to do ____ and stress is just a part of it, right? NO!

Stress is a sign that you are pushing yourself at YOUR capacity. Your whole being feels this stress and it’s telling you something has to change. You will see the results of your stress in your relationships, eating, sleeping, your health, your actions, your thoughts, your beliefs, your patterns and more.

Stress will take you down. There is no medal for struggling through each day. So why do you keep doing it? Insert – it’s familiar, I have to, I don’t know what else to do. Also insert – this isn’t working anymore. Time for something NEW.

I Don’t Like How I Feel

You’ll feel like a completely different person when you’re stressed, like something is taking over you. From an energy standpoint, that MEANS that something else has energetically taken over you. You won’t like how you feel and you’ll feel like you’re out of control.

Think of it as you saying, “I can’t do this myself.” And an energy (typically negative because you aren’t in a good space energetically when you do this) will step in and literally take over. Once you’ve given an energy permission to do that, it will easily slip in and feed on that negative energy and it becomes a pattern.

The problem is you’re not in control when another energy steps into your vibration like that. You literally hand over your keys.

What to do:

Clear the energy.
When you feel like you can’t do something, let go of that belief in that moment and say, “I am supported. Everything works out in the best way possible for everyone involved.”
Do the inner work every day, throughout the day to reduce your stress. Energy work helps you calm, balance and align your energy. It’s amazing!
Create more BALANCE in your life. The more in balance you are, the better you will feel, the less negativity you will bring into your life.

You should ALWAYS feel like you. If you don’t, you are handing your energy and power over. That doesn’t help you, that creates more problems for you and adds to unnecessary struggling. As a Spiritual Medium, I cannot stress the importance of standing in your power enough. You don’t need any more negativity in your life: I am free. I stand in my power.

How to Stop Your Stress Patterns

You know what adds to your stress, what will tip you over the edge and when you’ve pushed yourself too far. Once you’re in the stress, it’s harder to pull yourself out of it but you can’t stay in the stress for long without getting sick or an injury.

As a successful woman, the key to not getting STUCK, no matter how stressful your job or life is and to ideally catch yourself before you go into your stress patterns:

Have an inner work practice in place every day, throughout the day that helps calm, balance and align your energy
Say no to things that you don’t want to do or have to do
Create a life-work balance
Take breaks, lunches and 2 days off a week (the hustle is not sustainable)
Get plenty of sleep each night, not the bare minimum (game changer!!!)
Hire support to help you stay in balance

Remember, it is easier to keep yourself out of stress than it is to pull yourself out of it when you’re stuck in it. Your patterns are strong, you don’t even think about them – you just keep repeating them.

The key is to create a change and that’s what I help my clients do with my abilities as a Spiritual Medium. Aligning and balancing your energy helps you get on your best path each day.

Ready for some support to shift your energy? You can find my books here. To help you destress and balance your energy, I highly recommend “In Light & Love: My Guide to Balance”.

Lisa Gornall is a Spiritual Medium, Healer and Coach. She is also an author, speaker and offers event support and coaching program support for your clients.

Lisa uses her intuitive abilities to coach successful women at or near their breaking point to reset. It’s time to find fulfillment in yourself and in your relationships. It’s time to stop struggling to get through the day and thrive instead. You can have it all and love this amazing life you have created. Ready?

When Everything is Falling Apart & You Don’t Know What to Do

It feels like your world is falling apart and there is nothing you can do to stop it or fix it.

You’ve lost control. You don’t know what to do. You don’t know what your life will look like. You may even feel like you’re losing a part of your identity.

How did I get here?

How do I fix this right now and get back to normal?

Your instinct is to try to put it all back together again as quickly as possible and exactly as it was – but that doesn’t work. It’s still falling apart. You feel lost, hopeless and have no idea what to do.

It feels like everything is stopped – frozen. Time is going by slowly. You don’t know what to do… and you just want to put it back together again. The way it was wasn’t so bad after all…except that it really was if you’re being honest with yourself.

Why Things Fall Apart

While your life may appear to be just fine, underneath it all, you know that you aren’t happy. You haven’t been happy for awhile but you kept doing the same thing hoping for a new result. But it doesn’t work that way, you keep having the same experience instead.

It’s not working as it is, even if it APPEARS to be. The job. The significant other. The volunteering. Your life is off and while it may seem like it’s falling apart, I like to look at it as falling into something new, something better, even if you can’t see that possibility right now.

Let’s clear this up – if it was working, it wouldn’t fall apart. While it may be difficult to see in the moment, things fall apart so you can step into the new.

The way that things are in your life aren’t right for you anymore and the ONLY way you were going to make a change was if you had to. By everything falling apart, it forces you make the changes you’ve been ignoring, dreading or were unsure how to do. And know this – all is well, even if it doesn’t appear to be in the moment, it is!

What to Do

Flowing through this big change really is KEY. Your routine, goals, plans and certainty is all off.

It’s time for you to do the inner work. Heal the things it is time to heal and refill those areas (like your chest and stomach) with positive energy. Surrender the fear of the unknown.
Create new, supportive routines. Often you are stuck in routines just because that’s what you were taught to do, but do routines that are actually SUPPORTING you.
Get clarity. What is it you would like to do and who would you like to spend time with. Define what success actually means to you, not your family and start creating YOUR success.
Spend time out in nature. Go for a walk, a swim, take your shoes off and connect with nature. It’s amazing how quickly it shifts your energy and helps you connect with your intuition.
Trust that EVERYTHING will work out in the best way possible. You are supported! And if you don’t feel supported, hire support for this transition.

Create a Life You Love

Use this shake up to get more focused on loving your life and get less focused on the goals and hustle.

Do more things that bring you happiness and joy.
Spend time with people that lift you up – and that you lift up as well.
Make self-care a priority.
Redefine what success means to YOU. When your plan changes, make a new plan!!

My clients come to me when everything is falling apart and they’re at their breaking point. I’ve helped them through relationship break ups and divorces after 10 to 25 years together and have them dating again. I’ve worked with successful women that were stuck in hustling and being everything to everyone and making under 6 figures to making mid 6 figures and actually enjoying this life they’ve created.

Things fall apart for a reason. You may not know what that reason is at this moment, but at some point you will and it will all make sense. What is it time for you to do differently in your life?

Ready for some support to shift your energy? You can find my books here. If you are going through change, I highly recommend “Energy Balance: My Guide to Transformations”.

Lisa Gornall is a Spiritual Medium, Healer and Coach. She is also an author, speaker and offers event support and coaching program support for your clients.

Lisa uses her intuitive abilities to coach successful women at or near their breaking point to reset. Get your head, energy and life on point. Let’s get back to that freedom lifestyle you originally envisioned! Reset.

Categories

Tag: #focus

High Performer’s Top 4 Work Complaints & How to FIX Them

3 Tips to KEEP Your High Performers Engaged

4 Signs Your High Performers are on a Path to Burnout

The Top 4 Stressors in the Workplace & What to DO

What is Driving High Peformers to Overwork?

How to STOP & Reduce Your Work Stress

7 Tips to Have MORE Energy to Get Through Your Workday

Am I an Empath? What is an Empath & How it Affects You

Now that you know that you ARE an empath, What is an empath?

As an empath, You do not have to personally take on all the energy and let it affect you.

How did the energy double?

Here are some good boundaries for you going forward:

How do you KNOW if you are taking on someone else’s energy?

From Stressed to Thriving: Getting to the ROOT of Your Stress

When Everything is Falling Apart & You Don’t Know What to Do

Why Things Fall Apart

What to Do

Create a Life You Love

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