Postcard from the Edge of Burnout

On Fucking First Times, the absence of a New Normal, and Avoiding Burnout (even when you just wrote a book on it)

Day 11 of Covid, and today feels like turning a corner. I remain cautious: I thought I was turning a corner about six times last week, and would then turn straight back into deeper misery. The worst two days were the last two days. Today is marginally better. This thing is neither linear nor predictable and I want it to be over. I suck at being sick, and being sick in 2021 feels harder than ever.

As I went for a gentle stroll in the neighborhood (double-masked!) yesterday afternoon, I listened to Brené Brown’s podcast on “Fucking First Times”: those experiences in life which are entirely new to us and therefore challenging. She talked about strategies she and her organization have long adopted for dealing with Fucking First Times, and a couple of new strategies she has identified based on insights that came to light during 2020.

Fucking First Times, or FFTs, depending on your tolerance for swearing (mine is pretty high right now), used to be something that would happen to us occasionally — we start a new job, move towns, go on a first date, or take on a new responsibility. These days, FFTs are coming at us thick and fast, and the questions they…