The Real Reason You’re Burnt Out in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of the fastest-paced cities, with an average of 43 working hours per week. This may sound wild to many people, but it is the norm for Hongkongers.

 

When I relocated to Las Vegas, about one year in, I went back to Hong Kong for a holiday while I was pregnant. I walked out of IFC in Central and onto the bridge: the usual route I had taken to work for the past 15 years. Unconsciously, I started walking faster than I should. I felt like a “current” was pushing me from behind. I felt compelled to walk quickly, as if I were blocking people and making them angry.

 

By the end of the 14-day holiday in Hong Kong, I was exhausted.

 

With that brief separation from Hong Kong, I noticed that what I had accepted as normal was not actually normal.

 

That realization inspired me to return to Hong Kong and reestablish my relationship with the city, which to this day remains my favorite place: the place I call home.

 

What I mentioned earlier about the “current” pushing us to go, go, go, faster, doing more, is the vibe, the environment.

 

Environment impacts us immensely.

 

It’s like wanting to lose weight but being surrounded by people who drink, eat, and keep lots of snacks around. You simply feel compelled to eat and drink with them.

 

The same applies to the “current” in Hong Kong: people feel compelled to walk fast, work fast, and do more because their surroundings tell them to.

 

So the first thing I want to tell you is this: there is nothing wrong with you. The environment plays a huge role.

 

That said, it’s not as if we can’t change while living here. In fact, I proved that wrong. It is entirely possible to walk at your own pace, work with peace, and do things with composure in this vibrant city.

 

And this is what I help many of my clients do.

 

Most of my clients come in thinking the situation is pretty hopeless at the outset. They think, “Everyone else is the same. Why can they cope but not me?” That thinking only makes them want to work harder, do more, and put in more effort.

 

They see it as a competency problem. They believe that if they can’t cope, they must be weak. So they keep pushing until they simply can’t anymore.

 

I was certainly one of them, and I can totally relate.

 

If you can’t cope at 100%, you give 120%. It works well for the first couple of years and feels kind of fine for the next five. Until decades later… you just can’t anymore.

 

They think, “If I could do it before, why can’t I now?”

 

Again, they assume it’s a competency problem.

 

But the good news is: it’s not.  

 

Our emotional and physical states have been wired into a stress response for years. Our default way of being operates under alertness and caution: that has become our norm. When we are trained to anticipate problems, risks, and danger, to compete, to win, and to outpace others, our nervous system becomes wrecked.

 

Our stress response is always on. “ON” feels like safety.  

And when we try to turn it off by doing less, sitting still, or getting a massage, the “OFF” mode feels unfamiliar, uncomfortable, and for many people, unsafe.

 

This is where it gets tricky.

 

You can see why people know they are burnt out yet still can’t rest, recover, or restore, even when they go on holiday, get massages, go to the spa, lie down, or “meditate.”

 

Because it does not feel safe.

 

So my work is to guide you to feel safe again through step-by-step state management.  

It takes some time, but often it happens sooner than you might think.

 

The key is that this is ongoing management.  

The strategy only works if it is applied consistently.  

 

I will not only provide you with the science, step by step. I will also hand-hold you for a while until you become self-reliant.

 

When your state is in harmony, your “lens” is no longer blurred.  

Your clarity will give you the foundation to solve what needs to be solved.

 

If you want to start state management or go deeper to solve what needs to be solved, book a chat with me.