Members of the Junior League of Charlotte, Inc. (JLC), are “change agents” and work from the heart. They serve the JLC, fellow members and the League’s community partners in furtherance of the JLC’s mission to promote voluntarism, develop the potential of women and improve the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. They serve in the JLC while working and serving in other personal and professional roles that together may leave them depleted and at-risk of burnout. Each of us is encouraged to disrupt the cycle of burnout so that we may continue the work we were created to do.
Dr. Jackson’s Burnout Story In August 2019, Dr. Patrice Buckner Jackson, affectionately known as Dr. PBJ in her community, reached the executive role she had worked 20 years to obtain. Dr. PBJ is an educator with a doctoral degree in Education Administration. She had a corner office, staff, and a parking spot with her name on it. She had reached the picture of success, the picture of power, what she had worked so hard and so long to reach. And yet, on that August day, she found herself crying on her commute to work and in her parking spot. She pulled herself together, said good morning to her staff, went to her office, and crumpled upon entry. She held onto the doorknob for some time before making it to her desk, holding on to it for fear of falling. She had nothing more to give and knew it was time to go.
“Overwhelm is the Whisper, Burnout is the Demand” While grateful for her journey, Dr. Jackson minces no words that achieving her professional goals almost cost her everything. “I was always taught to keep climbing, to keep pushing. I had mentors along the way who told me I was doing a good job, that I could be President [of a university] if I wanted. I appreciate the encouragement I received along the way, and I don’t regret any of it. It was necessary. If I hadn’t made it to Vice President, I would have still been pushing for it because I didn’t know it wasn’t what I was supposed to do until I was there. I’m so grateful for my path, but I know I’m not the only woman doing my best and going after things. There are women out there working hard, pursuing a career, raising a family, being a good partner, serving their communities and doing all the things – because that’s what we’ve been taught we’re supposed to 36
do. That these things are the picture of success and power, so we continue to pursue all those things.” Dr. Jackson explains that, upon reaching that level of success and power, she realized that she had nothing else to give. “I often say, ‘overwhelm is the whisper, but burnout is the demand.’ I didn’t want to walk away from my students, team and colleagues. I didn’t want it to end that way, and I still carry some guilt about the way it ended, but I had no choice at that point. I had to stop.” Dr. Jackson left her position and took five months to recover in quiet and understand what happened and how she got to that point. At first, she thought that people in her life put too much on her. Upon reflection, however, she realized that it was not that other people demanded too much of her but that she “allowed it, invited it and created this life for herself without proper boundaries.” Approaching life without identifying her values, boundaries, or individual brilliance ultimately left her at rock-bottom burnout and costing her almost everything. Emerging from that experience, Dr. Jackson developed tools to help people live lives free of burnout, overwhelm and compassion fatigue, while also continuing to work, serve and do the things they are created to do in a long-term and sustainable way.
Your Heart Work Journey “You cannot work from the heart until you work in the heart.” Dr. Jackson’s “heart work journey” is an intentional three-step process. Step 1: Check Your Baggage “You will not honor your own boundaries until you check your baggage. It’s one thing to create a boundary, but it’s another thing to make sure that boundary is effective in
