Nowdays, just about everyone has a mobile phone, or an iPod or some other electronic device that has those battery bars on them. We are all familiar with the bars, and what happens when there are no bars. Sometimes the little picture of the battery flashes, sometimes you get warnings about low battery. And sometimes you have to see for yourself because there isn’t a warning. But in all cases, if we don’t plug that device in and recharge the batteries, it will turn itself off. It will stop operating properly (or at all).
If only we could have those little battery lights over our heads too, so we could know when our batteries need recharged. I think I saw a commercial for a hotel chain or something like that with this premise, but I’m not just talking about getting a good night’s sleep here. I’m talking about something a little more profound I suppose. Where it isn’t just physically tired, it’s that feeling of being fully drained. Unmotivated. Meh. Whatever you want to call it. In Scouts, for those of us who volunteer (or were volun-told) as leaders, I call it Scouting Burnout.
Scouting Burnout (noun)
1. Exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation (aka “Scouting Spirit”) usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration (see also: dealing with parents)
And it happens to all of us at some point. Sometimes it is just as small as “You know, what? No. I’m not going to go to that meeting or run that event. Let someone else do it.” Sometimes though it’s the mass email to everyone you can think of telling them all how you really feel and that you’re done. Not just burning the bridges, but setting them up with the C4 charges and KABLOOEY! Unfortunately that can lead to salting the earth as well and cause an otherwise good unit to struggle or fail. Luckily, most Scouting Burnout falls towards the first part of the scale and goes up to “I’m out” without the drama.
Over the last several years since I became a Scouter, I have seen the entire range of Scouting Burnout in other leaders that I’ve known and been close with (including the salting the earth type, at least twice). And I’ve had my fair share of burnout as well. The key is to deal with it early before it builds up and causes drama to ensue. Everyone has their own way to relax, and when Scouts is that way and it is stressing you, that is double-plus-ungood. So how do you relax and recharge from your relaxation activity? Work? I think not! For everyone, their way to recharge their Scouting spirit is different.
For me, I go to camp. Spending a week at resident camp, not worrying about parents or checkbook balances or the next meeting or event, getting to spend time with my boys, that’s what recharges me. Not just getting to watch my boys do all those great things that Scouting offers, but getting to do it too. I get to be a big 8 year old and it is a blast! I come home and my Scouting Spirit is at max power, ready to go. It’s almost kind of a letdown to come home from camp and realize slowly that the rest of the world isn’t as great as camp was. Alas, real life does tend to intervene. But the time spent at that camp really amps me up in the Scouting sense. My wife will tell you that physically it is the opposite though, I am usually exhausted and completely worthless for a few days after we get back. š
Unfortunately, resident camp is only one time a year. So what do I do in the meanwhile? Well, we camp out a lot, but it isn’t quite the same thing (very close though). But one of the neat things that happened last year was National Jamboree. I didn’t get to go this time around (I am *so* at the Summit in 2013!), but I spent the entire week listening in on QBSA Jambo Radio that I came across with much the same effect. The best part was heading down to our local council service center to watch the live stream of A Shining Light. That was great. I also DVR’ed it so I can rewatch at home at my leisure, thanks to Dish Network and BYU-TV.
The best part? Mike Rowe. I really think his speech was the highlight of the second arena show (Switchfoot and Alex Boye were also great too). So when I start to get a wee bit into those low bars on my Scoutometer, I jump onto UStream and re-watch his speech. So below is either the video embedded into this post or a link to it (I’m having issues getting it to play nicely).
http://www.ustream.tv/flash/viewer.swf
Link to the video on Ustream’s site.
What do you guys do to fight off or remedy Scouting Burnout?
Scoutmaster Scott's Scouty Stuff 