How To Avoid Getting Burnout If steady pressure has you feeling powerless, disheartened, and totally tired, you might be on the bumpy highway to burnout. Find out what you can possibly do to recover your stability and feel optimistic and confident again.

Phrases like, "I need a holiday!" and "Thank God it's Friday!" are getting more common than we expect it to be. What is it exactly that we need a break from – life or ourselves?

A few years back, while I was meditating, I reflected on my being that made me calm in my mind and bones. It later dawned upon me that my fears, attachments, disappointments, expectations, anger and judgments made all the difference. I recall a quote by Napoleon Hill, "No one can make you jealous, angry, vengeful or greedy; unless you let him."

We can control our life by choosing how we handle a given situation. We exercise choices at every step of our lives. With this power of choice, we can exert our will to change our perspective and open our life to new dimensions, and not hostage to social norms and conditioning.

We can decide if we want to feed our all-consuming need to win, acquire, possess and control or slow down, observe and enjoy life. Every person has their own definition and limits about wealth, success, power, and love. Some are content with just the basics and satisfied with the bare minimum but for others, even all the materialistic luxury in the world is not enough. When the desire to possess something consumes us, that's when nothing sedates us. One-upmanship, social competition and an unending quest for acquisition causes people to build their life on others' whims rather than trusting one's own beliefs.

What is it that fuels our desire for more? Is it the desire for acceptance and social status? Is the importance given to possessions over love and joy is arising from an apprehension to conform and being accepted? As a child, we long for our toys. As we grow up, our yearning to possess more grows with time and as soon as we have them, its charm is lost and we move on to the next big thing in line. As an adult, with gradual worldly ownerships, we miss out on simple pleasures of life.

This doesn't end here. We are plagued with other questions about desire that is it for power and control? If so, then power over whom? Can we ever gain control over other person's thoughts or force any reaction out of them? We can control only our thoughts and not of others.

Further to this, existential questions looms in our mind that do we live while assuming that we are unbeatable and deny the ultimate truth of death? Or do we believe to be immortal? Or the one to find a solution to the next life like the Egyptian pharaohs? History clearly demonstrates that money-oriented objects, status and a certain amount of control is needed but what about the quality of life?

Life gets increasingly complex when we multiply the quantum of our needs. Desires drive our life and before we know it, we drive away from life. There is little room for love. From centuries, the way to live a powerful life has been enumerated through mythological folklore and fables. We either choose to ignore the guidelines and warnings or to stay in our boundaries. When we learn to drive a car, we are cautious, alert and allow the instructor to guide us. Once we become confident in our driving skills, we become oblivious to the rule of practice.

With disciplined effort and time, we can develop awareness our inner-self through different techniques and practices. These practices help to withdraw the emotions that are seeking a sense of identity and belonging. As we extract our feelings, we are able to unleash our potential and express ourselves confidently. When our sentiments reconnect with the inner core, we realize that the ego is just a projection of the unanchored emotions and the only way to end suffering is to live in alliance with our authentic self.