Many people overextend themselves, bending over backwards to please others. They say ‘yes’ to most requests at the workplace and sacrifice their own well-being, energy and personal time to try to appear flexible and adaptable to their peers and bosses.

To break this trap, try to say ‘no’ often, or take low-stake projects. You can also set boundaries and take time off to recharge yourself.

• Perfection, it seems, hinders progress as well as our wellness.
• Our striving to be perfect makes us go to unattainable standards that tax us mentally and physically.
• The heavy burden of making everything perfect makes us sabotage our health and well-being, draining ourselves to the point that the goal of perfection is also not possible anymore.

To break this trap, be more kind and forgiving towards yourself for the apparent mistakes. Be aware that you are getting in your own way in your pursuit to help yourself.

Many of us put extra pressure on ourselves while starting a new role, and have feelings of insecurity or not being qualified for our job. We risk overworking and run a huge risk of burnout.

We can help ourselves from this trap by positive self-talk and an affirmative mindset.

Many of us sacrifice our family time, exercise and of course sleep to be able to work to the max, as it makes us feel engaged and ‘worthy’.

This trap can be broken by introspection and then setting boundaries, paying more attention to your hobbies, and family matters. Work-life balance is all the more important now, when our work, home, personal life and everything else is mixed up.

Many of us deal with stress in two ways:

1. Problem-focused coping is when we try to figure out what can be done and what cannot.
2. Emotion-focused coping is when we are overburdened and start to whine and rant, feeling the pressure.

To help us out of this trap, we need to challenge our beliefs of what is under our control and what is not. We will find that most deadlines aren’t as rigid as they seem to be.

Mindfulness and meditation practice helps us take care of our mind and make it de-stressed. One should be aware of one’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours, checking if anything is out of control.

Leaders and managers must listen to the employee and take concrete steps to ensure that they do not suffer burnout, or fall into the various traps of self-sabotage.