Most executives have to be dedicated, hard-working, committed and enthusiastic, all wrapped up in one tight package to be successful.

Some suffer from burnout simply because they did not take note nor time out to evaluate their personal well-being and the stress level experienced during the climb up their career ladder. It is not an easy task to predict what causes one executive to experience this burnout syndrome and another to escape it without a scratch, but most of the executives I spoke with seem to realise and were able to share what they did to reduce their stress levels.

The common stress release for all the executives I interviewed was exercise.

Here is what a few of them had to say. Only one gave permission to use his name the others asked to use aliases.

1. CJ: An executive of a large company, said he feels others usually generate his stress because the buck stops at his desk. He said he learned early in his career to put the company needs before his, hence he is single again and his work week is back up to 60 to 70 hours. To alleviate his stress he works out daily at home because he usually eats unbalanced meals during the week. He has not taken a vacation in several years, but will extend business trips for a few extra days if he is in a city with good theatre choices. When he travels he travels first class because he can get work done and the seats are more comfortable.

David Dodwell is a hotelier and politician. With his busy schedule he takes time out to do some sort of cardiovascular exercise at least three times a week. Although he feels fortunate to have a great team at the hotel and happy employees are very important to him, his family is a top priority, so he makes sure he takes time out to spend with them on a regular basis.

Vacations are limited but he will take his wife and daughter to visit his in-laws in South America at least once a year. He shared a very interesting technique of relieving stress by breathing in whilst expanding your stomach and pulling in your stomach whilst breathing out -- I guess the difficulty of trying to concentrate and coordinate the reverse contractions out and in helps to take your mind off the stress. I tried it and it worked.

AS: is semi-retired -- not because of age but due to his ample investments and assets. He works from his home office. He was in a highly competitive CFO position but decided he did not need the day-to-day aggravation of running the business and took early retirement at 48.

He still has the wheeler-dealer instinct but does it part-time and mainly as he stated for the "excitement'', so he dabbles in the stock markets and depending on how the market is running, spends approximately ten to 20 hours per week doing business.

He has built an in-house fully equipped gym and works out daily. He does not drink or smoke and never drinks carbonated sodas. Herb decaffeinated teas, a good old Humphrey Bogart movie with lots of popcorn (made the old-fashioned way, not in a microwave) are a major part of his enjoyment, including listening to good classical jazz.

I once read in an article that burnout is not found in the medical journals and millions of dollars are being spent on the topic of stress and the workplace. Executives all over the world are dropping out of business competition, not by choice but because of the medical complications they are being faced with due to their ignorance in their late 30s to 40s. That particular research showed that by 50, due to mental and physical body dysfunctions they were no longer able to function in the business race.

Dr. Michael H. Gendel, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado, said there is currently no hard data and diagnostic research behind the burnout idea but believes that some of the symptoms can be made on the basis of: Detachment predominantly from clients and staff; exhaustion emotional and physical; and loss of satisfaction or sense of accomplishment.

He further states that who will experience this type of stress is difficult because there are executives who function best when faced with deadlines, the long hours and various business pressures and on the other hand the others that quickly become burn out as the work load increases.

A good reference book on the burn out topic to read is James Joseph in "Working Wonders: 60 Quick-Break Techniques to Beat Burnout, Boost Productivity, and Revive Your Workday'' (1998, Berkeley).

One's loss over the direction and management of one's life and business,especially if it happened out of the bounds of your control, is a definite high stress factor that can most certainly lead to burn out and the lack of desire to carry on is sometimes played against the best of the best.

Hibernation for a short period is acceptable, after all we're only humans, but a talented business executive will quickly take stock of available options and get right back on the professional track. To refer to my old Granny axiom, "don't dwell on the missed bus, after all my dear, another one is bound to come by soon''.

Cindy Swan is a professional organiser with over 20 years of office administrative managerial experience and a member of the National Association of Professional Organisers.

Her column appears in the business section twice a month. Address inquiries to Cindy Swan, PO Box 304 St. George's GEBX or email her at organize yibl.bm