Brother Musician Podcast

Beating Burnout

• Rico Anthony • Season 1 • Episode 8

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Burnout threatens musicians once they've been in the industry long enough, challenging our commitment and draining our creative energy. Understanding the warning signs and implementing practical strategies can help us navigate through exhaustion without abandoning our musical path.

• Take at least two full-week vacations annually away from music
• Question if music is truly your calling when feeling burnt out
• Find an experienced mentor who can provide perspective
• Let mentors guide you through financial frustration and career challenges
• Burnout is inevitable, but giving up is optional
• Check your "why" to reconnect with your purpose

If this content has strengthened you in any way, please like, subscribe, share, and invite your friends to like the podcast. It's free for you to do, but it helps me. Thank you so much.


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Speaker 1:

Hello, I'm Rico Anthony, your host at the Brother Musician Podcast. Thank you for listening. Listen. Today I want to talk to you about something that's very, very serious and we all experience it. It's called burnout.

Speaker 1:

Once you get some longevity in this, once you you know you get a full year and this is all you've been doing we experienced this thing called burnout. Burnout is where you just don't feel like doing it anymore, like you almost challenge or question if you should be doing this. It's taking too much energy. You quit practicing, you quit working on your craft, whatever it is in music that you do Like you just feel like it's like I don't have anything else to give to it. That's called burnout. So when you experience that, there are some things that I want you to consider before you decide to just give up. The first thing is did you take a vacation? When is the last time you took a vacation? When is the last time you actually took a break from what you're doing? I always ask the people that are under my leadership, even at the church, on a worship team or wherever make sure you're taking at least two vacations a year, make sure you're spending time away from this, because if not, you're going to experience burnout. You're going to. It's going to be like, oh my God, this is like a job and, truthfully, it doesn't have to require a lot of hours in order for you to experience it. It's just the fact that you focus on it every week, every day. You know, every month you got goals that you want to accomplish, but you want to make sure that you're taking breaks, periodic breaks in between at least two full weeks a year, to where you don't even think about music or whatever it is that you do in the music. Spend some time with your family. But if you do that, that will lessen the likelihood of you actually burning out or feeling like this is this is too much. So take your time and do that.

Speaker 1:

Second thing I want you to consider when you, if you're experiencing burnout is am I supposed to be doing this? Check your why. Why do you do this? You know because sometimes we get burnout from things that we're not supposed to be doing. So I'm not saying just because you're listening to this that you're doing the music is what you're supposed to be doing. So I'm not saying just because you're listening to this that you're doing the music is what you're supposed to be doing. It could just be something that's a side hobby that you've just put too much time into.

Speaker 1:

But if this is what you're supposed to be doing, then go back to the first point, which was take a, make sure you're taking a vacation and then check the next point that I'm going to make, which is find a mentor. You need somebody pouring into you. So in doing what we do, a lot of times we don't have. We pour out, so we give everything that we have, but we don't have anybody pouring back into us. Find you somebody that's been doing this for a while hopefully longer than you have and they've already experienced some of the hardships, some of the challenges that you may be facing. You could be burnt out just because you're not financially getting what you feel like you deserve, that you're supposed to be getting at this point, so you might feel like giving up at that point. But that mentor, that older person or that person that's just been doing this longer or has more experience, they can reel you back in and tell you not to give up. Hey, I remember when it was like this they got stories that they can tell you. Make sure you go back and find a mentor, listen to the mentor, take the advice of the mentor and if you don't have one, if you don't have one, get one. Find you a great old guy now, it doesn't have to be an old guy, I'm kidding but find you somebody that's gonna, that can help walk you through some of the dark places that we have mentally when it comes down to being a musician.

Speaker 1:

Look, burnout is gonna happen. It's just it's. I mean, it is what. No matter what your field is, burnout is happen. But I don't want you to be in the place of giving up every single week because you're burnt out. They're like the vacation, the finding a mentor, the checking your why. Those are practical things that you can do. They won't help you avoid burnout, but they'll help you avoid giving up.

Speaker 1:

That's my point. I don't want you to give up. I don't want you to quit. I don't want you to throw in the towel because things aren't going the way you need them to go. I need you to keep pushing, keep moving, keep going forward, because this is what you're supposed to be doing. If you're listening to this, I'm talking to you. Whether it's music or not, don't give up on whatever it is that you're supposed to be doing. All right, that's my two cents on the burnout. I hope you guys are having an amazing day and I hope you don't give up. If this content has strengthened you in any way, please like, subscribe, share, invite your friends to like the podcast. I appreciate it. It helps me. It's free for you to do, but it helps me. Thank you so much. Have a great day.