In the winter of 1997, I was at the starting line of the Elfstedentocht, the famous 200-kilometre Dutch ice-skating tour. I witnessed a remarkable scene.
A sporty-looking man in his forties could hardly wait for the race to begin. As soon as the starting signal was given, he stepped onto the ice. With powerful, rapid strokes, he gave it everything he had. In his mind, he was already well on his way to the finish.
Only… he wasn’t moving an inch.
People standing nearby shouted to him in the local Frisian dialect, “Hé jeu, dou hest dien skaatsbeskermers nog oan!” (“Hey, you’ve still got your skate guards on!”)
It took him about a minute before he realised what had happened. With legs already burning from the effort, he removed the plastic guards from his skates and continued his journey.
I often think of this incident when I treat people returning to work after burnout.
...
One man I worked with was dreading his first day back. He had prepared himself carefully. His plan was simple: focus only on the tasks that really mattered and leave everything else for later.
But as soon as he opened his laptop, something entirely different happened. Within minutes, he found himself working on all kinds of low-priority tasks—the very things he had promised himself he wouldn’t do.
His mind was already focused on the finish line, while he had lost touch with his body.
I suggested a small experiment. Sitting in my practice, he opened his laptop again. This time, I first asked him to notice where he felt tension in his body.
“Around my diaphragm,” he said.
Next, I asked where he felt calm.
“In my feet.”
Then I invited him to sense the connection between his diaphragm and his feet. As soon as he did, he noticed his breathing becoming calmer, and he felt much more at ease sitting behind his laptop.
That is exactly the difference.
When you return to work, you don’t have to run the entire marathon on day one. By first arriving in your body, you avoid starting that marathon with a sprint that immediately puts your nervous system into stress mode.
Just as the skater could only move forward after taking off his skate guards, you can only truly move forward when your mind and body are working together again. From that place, you can find a pace that is sustainable—without exhausting yourself in the very first miles.
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