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By VALERIE SCHREMP HAHN

People who care deeply about their work and who have a strong sense of purpose and mission — like many health care workers — are at the highest risk of suffering from burnout, according to Nataly Kogan. And she wants to help.

Kogan, a keynote speaker at CHA's 2023 Catholic Health Assembly, is a motivational speaker who focuses on emotional fitness and well-being, the founder of Happier Inc. and the author of Happier Now, Gratitude Daily and The Awesome Human Project.

She immigrated to the United States at age 13 as a refugee from the former Soviet Union and became a founder and executive at five startups and tech companies. Then, she burned out.

Now, she said she helps people become "awesome humans," giving them the tools they need to care for themselves so they can care for others.

Lesson of burnout
Kogan said burning out taught her a powerful lesson: you can't give what you don't have.

"If you want to give the care that you all give, if you want to serve the mission that you all have for a long time in a sustainable way, it means you have to put your self-care and your emotional fitness at the top of your list," she said.

Kogan defined emotional fitness as "creating a supportive relationship with yourself, your thoughts and your emotions."

She said research shows that among workers if colleagues have better relationships with themselves, those on their team have a better chance of improving as well. The opposite is also true, she said. If someone is depleted and stressed, that stress affects others.

Check in, fuel up
Kogan shared two specific ways to practice emotional fitness: the self check-in and the mini fuel-up.

Like one would check in with a colleague, patient, friend or family member, she said people should ask themselves how they are feeling. "Especially when you acknowledge your difficult feelings or uncomfortable feelings, you're able to experience them for a shorter amount of time and with less intensity," Kogan said. "And at the very foundation of this practice is this idea of creating a more supportive relationship with yourself."

To explain the mini fuel-up, Kogan compared humans to cars. "Your car needs fuel to do its job of being a car, right? You need energy to do your job of being a human," she said.

The simple practice means taking a 10- to 20-minute break for a walk outside, having a chat with a colleague, inhaling some deep breaths or pausing for prayer. Kogan urged going outside and stepping away from all screens to disconnect and refuel.

Kogan encouraged Assembly participants to make well-being and self-care a daily priority. "I want you to pause and remember that we're all connected, that your self-care gives you the ability to give care to others," she said. "Because if everyone makes this commitment to our emotional fitness and our well-being, think of what is possible. Think of the meaningful impact and meaningful connections we can then create with others."