Business Up Front

Before we get into our topic, I want to remind you that it is almost June! That means that submissions for the Enter Here: An Anthology of Portals are almost open! Please read the submission guidelines carefully and feel free to reach out at [email protected] if you have any questions. Now, onto…

The Background

We’re going to talk about burnout today, but first, we’re going to talk about dogs. (The dogs live to the end but receive some shocks, so be warned. This was back in the olden days.)

In the 1960s, researchers Seligman and Overmier did a series of experiments on dogs. They put dogs into boxes where the box was divided into two rooms by a wall, and the floor was able to provide a mild electric shock. Now, here’s the cruel part. What they would do is administer a series of shocks on the floor while the divider was up. Then, randomly, they would lower the divider and the dog could escape.

Well, what happens when you don’t lower the divider? Surely the dog keeps scrabbling at the divider trying to escape, right?

Wrong. First, the dog stops trying to escape, even though they are being shocked. Then, once you lower the divider, the dog still stops trying to escape, even though they are now able to.

It’s called learned helplessness. It’s the idea that, in a consistently punishing environment with no escape, a person will eventually stop trying to escape even when avenues of escape are presented to them.

The Point

So, C.J., you made me read this awful story. What does this have to do with burnout?

Everything.

A friend from Codex, and I’m so sorry I forget who it was, clued me into the connection a while ago, and it makes so much sense.

Imagine that you are writing and you are being “punished.” Your plots aren’t working. You’re under a great deal of stress either from deadlines or from things external to your creative work. And there’s no escape other than to just…stop writing. So you stop.

Now you’re burned out. You can’t even imagine starting again, even though there are plenty of opportunities to do so. The thought of even trying makes you sick.

That’s learned helplessness.

The Fix

I wish I had an easy solution for this one, but I’m still navigating it myself. If this were therapy, I’d tell my patient they might look at the thoughts that are keeping them stuck, and then reframe those thoughts. I guess that applies here too.

Another thing that’s worked for me a little so far are baby steps. Like, baby baby. If you have been reading my newsletter, then you remember I did a month where my goal was only 100 words per day. I didn’t get every day done in April, but I did do pretty damn well for starting from 0.

My new goal for revisions is 2 chapters a day, or whatever equates to that in the nebulous revision process. We’ll see how I do.

In Conclusion

In the end, we’re all just trying to jump over walls. Let them not be walls of our own making.

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