Many leaders are being debilitated by emotional fatigue. It is created by the busyness of our lives which creates busyness in our brains. We find it hard to switch the chaos in our brains off. As a result we struggle to remain present and mindful. This results in people feeling drained and completely wiped out because they have lost the ability to switch off, chill out and relax. They are always thinking, worrying, juggling and at their worst feeling anxious about the future. They struggle to live in the moment. 
Obviously our technology exacerbates this condition – phones, iPads, computers, Twitter, Blogs, emails…and so the list goes on! As does our need for perfect performance. Found it really sad to watch our Olympic swimmers come out of the pool having won a Silver Medal and crying with the disappointment they had brought to their family and the nation. Wow – what sort of expectations are we placing on ourselves and no wonder an ever increasing number of young people suffer from depression and anxiety. We need to take a good hard look at what we are creating – and it needs to start from the top – our leaders in business, in community and in our families.
So switch off the technology, find a great place to just sit and “be” in the moment and mindful of what is happening for you and your body. You might even like to try yoga as a way of calming your mind. To prevent or control emotional fatigue we need to allow ourselves time to switch off and be in the moment with ourselves. The work of Dr Russ Harris is brilliant on this issue – mindfulness.
I am working hard to role model this kind of mindfulness at home and at work – still taking baby steps!
