It finally arrives and everything goes well or even exceeds your expectations. In spite of that, you wake up the next day and instead of feeling great joy, you feel like quitting. You are emotionally spent. You feel like you have nothing more to give. And you wonder what's wrong...you wonder why you are feeling this way.
Don't worry and don't quit. What you are experiencing is normal. Here's five things to know about why you crash.
You're experiencing an emotional let down of going from an exciting, challenging, pressure-filled situation to one that’s less demanding. When you are in the midst of preparing for the big event, your adrenaline is pumping. Once the event is over, the sense of urgency and adrenaline rushes you felt slow down or even stop. This causes a withdrawal.
What to do? Be aware that this is going to happen. It will help you understand what you are feeling.
You feel like you are going from exciting work back to a "boring" routine.
What to do? Fight this by establishing an ongoing growth routine that will keep you challenged, even when you don't have a "big event" going on.
You are experiencing a form of burnout. Pulling off a big event takes lots of mental, emotional, and physical effort. Many times, the amount of energy it takes exceeds the amount of energy you have in reserve. When this happens, you burn out. This means when you think about post-event work like follow-up, you feel overwhelmed and you don't think you can pull it off.
What to do? Set expectations for what you can realistically do before, during, and after the event so you have something left to give after it's over.
You probably have a backlog of regular work that has accumulated while you were pulling off the big event. The rest of your job didn't stand still and now feeling like you can't catch up is discouraging.
What to do? Instead of diving right into the work, take time to sit down and list, clarify and prioritize what needs to be done. This will give you a new sense of direction that is energizing.
Your tank is empty. As mentioned above, you've spent out all of your energy. You've got nothing left to give.
What to do? Take some time off. If you can't take an extended period of time off, then schedule some short breaks. Get away from your work and take a walk, exercise, do a hobby you like, spend time with a friend, turn off your email and just relax.
You reached your goal. To stay engaged, we require new experiences and challenges.
What to do? Find something new to be excited about. Make time to explore new ideas and opportunities.
Conclusion...
How you feel and what you do following a big event is just as important in the long run as the event itself. Knowing what to do with the feelings and burnout you experience will help you move from one big win to a consistent streak of wins.
The floor is yours...
Do you experience this after big events or programs?
How do you respond to these feelings?
What has helped you bounce back after a big event or program?
Share with us in the comment section below.
