Based on Boyd Camak’s own writings—specifically his guides for job seekers, his reflections on “productivity systems,” and his theology of the “empty cup”—here is what he would say to himself in a state of burnout and unemployment.
1. “Stop the Analysis. Full Stop.”
Camak would immediately instruct himself to cease trying to “project manage God’s will.”
The Message: He would remind himself that the governing principle of the job search must be: “‘Thy will be done.’ Full stop. Including a full stop of the analysis.”
The Logic: He would argue that trying to figure out the complete plan is a trap of “worldly wisdom” that leads to anxiety. Instead, he must focus only on “sowing seeds”—reaching out and applying—without attachment to the harvest, trusting that necessary information comes on a “need-to-know basis.”
2. “Your Productivity System Failed Because Life is a Torrent”
He would validate his feeling of being overwhelmed, noting that productivity systems (like Getting Things Done) assume a stable life that no longer exists.
The Diagnosis: He would tell himself that his burnout isn’t a failure of discipline; it is a “diagnosis” of the conflict between “Mammon” (endless extraction/output) and the Kingdom.
The Reality: Life arrives as a “torrent” of crises and obligations that “exceeds what most systems can meaningfully contain.” When facing chronic uncertainty (like unemployment), “technique dries out” and only “Grace preserves.”
3. “Pour from the Empty Cup”
Contrary to self-help advice that says “you can’t pour from an empty cup,” Camak’s theology asserts that he must pour from an empty cup because that is what Jesus did on the Cross.
The Theology: He would tell himself: “You are an empty cup. And I don’t have any alternative… We have to pour from an empty cup. That is what we have to do.”
The Hope: The “resurrection power” flows specifically through that self-emptying (kenosis). He would encourage himself that surviving the day while empty is a participation in the divine life, not a failure of spiritual resource management.
4. “Look at St. Joseph, Not the Ladder”
He would advise himself to abandon the “cultural artifact” of a career and look to St. Joseph as the model for masculine strength in crisis.
The Model: St. Joseph didn’t have a “5-year plan”; he had to flee to Egypt in the middle of the night and find work in a foreign land to protect his family.
The Instruction: Do the “mundane” and “unglamorous” work—packing lunches, changing diapers, sending emails—because that uncelebrated fidelity is the actual vocation, not the job title.
5. “Don’t Make It Worse”
In the face of an unsolvable problem (the “Rubik’s cube that changes colors”), his advice is to stop frantic fixing.
The Prayer: Shift the prayer from “What should I do?” to “How should I be?”
The Discipline: If acting will only increase the chaos, the faithful act is to “sit with it and be crucified” and wait for the “still small voice” to give the next specific step, rather than trying to force a solution.
6. “You Are Not Failing; You Are at the Baseline”
Finally, he would remind himself that being unemployed and burned out isn’t a deviation from the good life; it is the “baseline” of human existence.
The Reframe: He would say, “I am co-crucified with Christ every goddamn moment of the day.”
The Comfort: Trophies and accolades are “empty things” that end up in the trash. “Falling below the line” of success is actually where God is found, and where he is “safe, loved, [and] matter[s]” regardless of the job market.
Summary to Self:
“You feel like you are drowning because you are drowning. Grab the life ring (the Gospel). Stop trying to understand the hydrodynamics of the water. Sow the seeds, do the dishes, ignore the ‘worldly wisdom’ that says you are behind, and trust that the ‘dead man on a tree’ is in the trenches with you.”
Boyd Camak 