I read this insightful article about Change Fatigue. The authors describe it as "a feeling of being overwhelmed by all the change or disruption taking place."
The article focuses on organisations and the impact that change fatigue, when left unaddressed, has on people. It can lead to burnout, exhaustion, and disconnection, hindering any effort to change. The article also provides a list of factors that can create fatigue and initiative that can prevent it.
I feel this kind of fatigue can also be experienced outside the context of organisations. We live in a period of fast and massive technological and societal transformations that keep everyone on their edge, forcing many to change, learn and grow with unprecedented speed and intensity.
However, there are three characteristics of growing, learning and changing that can create fatigue.
They take time. They are not just about getting somewhere or acquiring something. They require us to rewrite our inner circuits, and that takes time.
They are non-linear. As much as we would love change to be a linear and controllable process, it is not. To change and grow, we must step into the unknown, into the realm of possibilities where it's easy to get lost and where results are unpredictable. And our brain does not like unpredictability so much, so it can quickly become stressful.
They are uncomfortable. They require us to challenge our thinking, question our truth, face our limits and become vulnerable. We need energy to go there, which means we also need time to recover and rebuild that energy.
So, if you feel apathetic or fatigued, maybe it's time to take a little break for your journey to change, learn and grow.