With Mayo Clinic oncologist Edward T. Creagan, M.D.

My colleague and friend said, "Ed, I never saw it coming."

Here's the rest of the story. High octane power broker, age 52, on umpteen corporate boards, Master of the Universe, with multiple irons in the fire, uber-multi-tasker, with nonstop commitments on a global scale. His belt sagged from 4 techno-gadgets keeping him connected to the rest of the world. Get the picture? No, I am not kidding.

He gave 3 black tie presentations in 1 week in 3 different cities, 3 different hotels, and 3 different time zones. Got off his exercise and food routine, was sleeping poorly and drinking too much. Knew what to do but admitted that he got swept away in the energy of these events. It was a very seductive week and " ... how could I say no to so many worthy causes?"

Guess what? Arrived home after this Grand Tour of Corporate America with drenching sweats, diffuse joint and muscle pain, overwhelming fatigue, depression, and just felt lousy. Oh, by the way, 2 canceled flights on the way home.

One positive thing he did was to see his local physician, who diagnosed a viral/flu-type syndrome, at least in some part provoked by a very stressful timetable. Eventually, there is a limit and most of us do not know when the tank has run dry until something bad happens ... as in my friend's case. He was clueless about what could happen when there is no margin for recovery, no time to recoup and heal.

So a lesson for each of us is to recognize there are limits, and without keen attention to our physical and emotional needs we are at risk for a stress-related event, burnout, exhaustion ... if not now, then at some time. From our blog community we have learned that we have choices and options.

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