#2 The Path of Self-Actualization

Burnout recovery from the ground up

If you would prefer to read this post on my website, it can be found here.

One month ago I gave my resignation. Yesterday was my last day 😌

I resigned from the intellectual property law firm I have worked at since 2016. Many people have asked me what I am doing next? Which firm I am going to? Which company have I joined? The answer? Nothing, none of them.

The response to my answer has been mixed. Some people are confused, unable to contemplate stepping out into the unknown, into the realm of uncertainty, without an employment plan in mind. Others are supportive, recognizing the value in taking a step back to recalibrate before moving onto the next phase.

One comment in particular has seemed to resonate with people in both camps: that I am burnt out 🥵

Burnout

Burnout can be sneaky, slowly building up until it takes over everything all at once, shrouding my brain in fog and skewing my view of the past, present, and future. Burnout can make it hard to care, introducing apathy towards many things, stifling change and making it hard to break away. It can also be hard to recover from. 

I realized that for me to recover from burnout, I needed to do something I haven't done for years: truly rest. I have taken vacations, but my level of depletion from burnout is such that vacation does not seem to recharge me back to 100%. I need more time, more rest, more purpose.

The Burnout Recovery Pyramid

To help, I have been going to therapy. During therapy I was shown this burnout recovery pyramid, modelled on Maslow's hierarchy of needs (more on that later). The more burnt out you are, the further down the pyramid you should start in order to begin the recovery process.

It makes sense. If you are slightly burnt out, reconnecting with things you once enjoyed can engage and pull you out of burnout.

However, if you are completely fried, odds are you have let other areas in life slip, including physical and mental health. In this scenario, it's best to start at the bottom. Given that my burnout phase has lasted well over a year, I recognized that is where I needed to start.

For me, starting at the bottom has meant letting go of the life I had built, one of stability and financial comfort with my job. Over time, I have realized that my values did not align with this life, leading to a dissonance that both drained and anchored me from being able to initiate change, to grow.

To truly recalibrate and begin again, I realized that I would benefit from a complete situation change, or situations wechsel as my friend would say. Changing environments is one of the best ways to alter habits. By resigning, I was enabling a true habit rebuild from the ground up. I figured that this shift in perspective might be the best way to assess where I am at and which direction I should head next.

As noted in my first entry (see below), my goal is to recalibrate my habits and lifestyle to improve my path of self-actualization.

I will be doing recalibration with the recovery pyramid in mind, shifting my perspective away from working for others and towards self-employment and self-expression through creation. But before we go there, I want to take a step back and address the question: What is self-actualization?

Self-Actualization

When I think of self-actualization, I think about doing what I am truly meant to do, being the best version of myself. I also think of the top of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs; one of the best-known theories of motivation. To understand the top, it is helpful to start at the beginning; build from the ground up.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

The hierarchy is shaped like a pyramid, with each layer smaller than the previous layer. Note that I have provided a very high level overview here, I have included links to more detailed resources at the end. The pyramid looks like this:

https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html#Self-actualization

The first two layers are the basic needs: physiological and safety. If these are not met, there is a feeling of deficiency. I also think that the lack of these needs generally leads to a decline in mental health due to the regular anxiety of trying to meet them.

The third and fourth layers are the psychological needs: social and esteem. If these layers are not met, there is an inability to grow, to change. I think stagnation can lead to a decline in mental health, as we try to grow but are unable to. There is a feeling of being lost, of not knowing where to go next in life. Being lost and constantly questioning direction in life can also lead to anxiety and inability to properly rest. Lacking these needs also leads to deficiency, slowly moving backwards.

Next, we arrive at the peak of the pyramid, self-actualization. When self-actualization is reached, people tend to care less about what others think of them as they pursue their full potential. The desire to achieve self-actualization leads to self-awareness as they try to be the best version of themselves. This is the growth phase, the phase that truly enables us to feel consistently complete as we step into our natural selves; who we are meant to be.

The Expanded Hierarchy of Needs

Over the years, Maslow expanded his hierarchy to include a few more layers of the pyramid. Prior to self-actualization, there are cognitive needs (knowledge, curiosity, and exploration) and aesthetic needs (appreciation and search for beauty). These needs go towards what I consider self-exploration and self-expression. Meeting the deficiency needs allows for a foundation of growth towards self-actualization.

At the top, there is transcendence, going beyond the self. I understand transcendence to be a state of being that arises from consistent self-actualization, of maintaining one’s path. In other words, self-actualization is not a goal to achieve, but is a way of being. A journey, not the destination.

https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html#Self-actualization

However, additional research has shown that even if the basic needs are met, to be happy, a person may still need self-actualization and social needs. I personally think that self-expression is one of the best ways to maintain the pursuit of self-actualization. This self-expression can be done purely for one's own sake, or can be shared with others as a form of communication and bonding (social needs). I also think that the lack of self-expression can lead to a deficiency in multiple areas of the pyramid, though of course that will depend on the person.

What’s Next?

Recalibrating is my way of assessing where I am at on the journey of self-actualization. By reflecting regularly on this path, I hope to more quickly recognize when I am straying off-course. I regularly reflect through different practices  including mindfulness, journaling, and art. For more information on mindfulness, I have a mindfulness introduction guide here. To see some of my favourite artistic creations, I recommend checking out my first collection “Begin, Again” here.

My hope is that by recalibrating my habits, both physical and mental, I can maintain the path of self-actualization and avoid burning out again. Stay tuned ✨

P.S.

For more detail on Maslow's Hierarchy, I found this article to be a great summary: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-4136760. Even more detail can be found here: https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html#Self-actualization.