6 Things That Happen When You Work Yourself Too Hard

1. You never stop to celebrate your wins. You dwell on your failures, but whenever you achieve something special, you barely take any time to acknowledge it. You’re already moving onto the next thing. You’re already worried about what comes next. Instead of celebrating how hard you’ve worked, you continue working hard. You want results so badly — but when you finally see them, you can’t even celebrate them because you feel like they aren’t enough. You feel like you have to do even more.

2. You randomly blow up. You have intense mood swings because you aren’t taking proper care of yourself. You aren’t stopping to recharge. You aren’t pausing to deal with your problems. You’re ignoring everything other than your work because the only thing you care about is your productivity. The more you push your own needs to the background, the more often you’re going to snap at random, the more often you’re going to burst into unexpected tears, the more often you’re going to have mini meltdowns.

3. Your priorities get jumbled. You might be so concerned with finishing your work that you neglect other important aspects of your life. You might turn down an evening out with friends or a meal with your family or a romantic date with your partner because you don’t have time to have fun. However, even though you might feel like you’re doing the responsible thing by working instead of playing, you need social time too. You shouldn’t forget to make room for your loved ones in your schedule. Your whole life shouldn’t revolve around work.

4. You resent everyone around you. It’s hard for you to see others succeed when you’re putting in more work than them. It’s just as hard for you to see others relaxing without a care in the world when you have a hard time doing the same thing yourself. You compare yourself to everyone you see because the only thing on your mind is success. And that kind of mindset will drain you. It will make you bitter and sad.

5. You half-ass certain aspects of your life. You’re only human. It’s impossible for you to focus on fifty things at once. If you’re rushing to get a million things done in a 24 hour timeframe, then you will only be able to put 100 percent of effort into a few of those things. Everything else will only get half your attention, half of your energy. However, you have to remember, most of the time, it’s better to do something right than to rush through it, even if it takes you a little while longer.

6. You burn yourself out. If you keep working yourself too hard, you’re going to reach a point where you shut down. You’re going to exhaust yourself. You’re going to reach a breaking point. Even though you have a lot to get done during the day, it’s better for you to pace yourself than for you to get a million things done one week and then completely lose the ability to get out of bed the next week. Moderation is key. You don’t want to make yourself miserable on your way to success. The journey should be enjoyable, too.