Last week George Kao (you can find & follow him at @geokao on IG, and I highly recommend you do — he is one of the key thought leaders inspiring me on my journey of authentic entrepreneurship) released a short 8 minute video on his instagram entitled 8 Practices for Authentic Business Growth wherein he stated,

“Without Joyful productivity, we start to use every day as a means to an end.Is your day, hour, moment a means to an end? Do you just have to get something done [now] so that you will be able to finally thrive in the future? OR can this very moment be one where you are truly fulfilled?”

As entrepreneurs and business owners, we are tasked with holding the big picture. On one hand, our energy must be fluid enough to oscillate within the ever changing demands of the micro, while on the other hand, our energy must be powerful enough to unwaveringly push towards the daunting goals of the macro. It’s a journey across the tightrope of existence — the big & small, the external & internal. When we fall off the tightrope, we experience burnout.

You may not know how to define burnout, and you may not even be able to recognize that you are currently in a state of burnout, but you can definitely point to a time in your life when you have experienced burnout.

What is burnout, exactly? Blogs, psychologists & your healthcare provider may tell you that burnout is a state of mental and emotional exhaustion caused by an inability to meet external demands of pressure. It is experienced in both the mind and the body and looks like an inability to focus, irritability, exhaustion and fatigue, to name a few lovely symptoms. If left unaddressed for long enough, this will create a consistent, long-term state of anxiety in an individual.

In 2013, while living in San Francisco and working in the insanely fast-paced world of tech, I made an appointment with my doctor after experiencing chest pains. I was convinced I had heart arrhythmia (p.s. I was a physically healthy woman in my mid 20s).

On the day of my appointment my doctor welcomed me in, listened to me for a couple moments and then sat back and said, “There is nothing wrong with your heart. What you are experiencing is Anxiety.” I was genuinely shocked. “But I’m not anxious!” was my immediate, anxiety-ridden response. He smiled and gave me a quick rundown of how anxiety can show up in the body, along with a couple cheesy brochures with titles like, “What To Do Now That You Have Anxiety” and sent me on my way.

That was the moment I have pinned in my mind as the beginning of my mindfulness journey.

Roughly 40 million people in the U.S. are currently living with anxiety — an insane number. On the bright side, anxiety is one of the most treatable mental disorders. Yet, only about a third of people living with anxiety receive treatment. Why is this? My own experience would suggest that a huge number of people currently living with anxiety have absolutely no idea they even have it. And it’s not their fault. We are trained to live unconsciously.

At the time of my appointment in 2013, I was living in chaos. Constantly working towards the next, the next, the next — the next promotion, the next company, the next night out, the next guy. My life was a hamster wheel of to-do’s and what’s-next’s without any conscious intention around why I was doing what I was doing, what I wanted to accomplish, where I wanted to end up, or who I wanted to become. I was spinning, and worst of all — I had no idea I was spinning.

We are taught from an early age to set our goals and to work hard to achieve them. But we are rarely given any direction as to what to do once we have obtained that which we have desired, and given even less freedom to question why we even want to obtain these success points in the first place.

Burnout is the compounded effect of unaddressed internalization of projected external expectations. In short: Burnout is the result of Unconscious Living.

The key to successfully walking the tightrope of existence is a Conscious Mind. Bringing it back to George’s statement, “Without Joyful productivity, we start to use every day as a means to an end.” When we lose balance with our intention, we go unconscious. This can happen in a moment, even for the most seasoned mindfulness gurus.

So, if burnout is the result of anxiety, and anxiety is the result of an unconscious relationship with Life — how do shift and regain consciousness in our lives and in our work? Here are 3 practices I have brought into my daily life that have assisted my Mindfulness Journey of Conscious Living:

1. Becoming > Obtaining
During my time as a Life Coach, I spoke with dozens upon dozens of clients with a plethora of goals and desires. An incredibly common goal was that of desiring a romantic partnership. I had numerous female clients who would come to me and say, “I want a husband.” However, in the process of providing a Life-Audit for them, I rarely if ever, discovered that one of these female clients were actively trying to become a wife.

When I catch myself being discouraged about where my business is compared to where I want it to be or compared to where other people’s businesses are, I shift my energy back to myself. Ex.: Instead of being bummed that I do not yet have a million dollar company, I ask myself “How can I embody the qualities of a business owner who has a million dollar company?” Shifting my focus from “How can I obtain” to “How can I become” has been one of the greatest mind-hacks I have incorporated into my entrepreneurial (& life) journey.

2. Bring It Back to the Now
Lao Tzu said, “If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.”

Presence is key to removing anxiety. This is what George Kao was saying in his video. When we look to each day as a journey within itself, we remove it’s use in our mind as a means to an end. Bringing ourselves back into the present moment gives us the opportunity to expand time and enjoy life more fully.

3. Gratitude
There is a reason why every major religion and any guru worth their salt preach ad infinitum the incorporation of a daily practice of gratitude: it works. The results are proven across thousands of scientific studies. In our bodies, it reduces physical pain. In our minds, it reduces envy & aggression and promotes empathy. In our lives, it amplifies our ability to connect with others, expanding our networks and improving our relationships. In short: if you do not have a daily gratitude practice, you are setting yourself up for anxiety & ultimate burnout.

Life is a journey. The entrepreneurial experience is a really incredible facet of this voyage, giving us a front-row seat to hyper-loop growth if we allow it. Our ability to cultivate a Conscious Mind as we walk the tightrope of success across all milestones will directly determine our ability to avoid burnout, attain peace, and ultimately, sustain Joyful Productivity in all that we do.