The Things That Slow Us Down...
The last few weeks have been a little crazy. Check engine light came on, flat tire happened, car accident happened, irrelevant (and expensive) major car repair was needed, extra doctor visits happened for completely unrelated issues, and overall ongoing exhaustion kept me down and I missed more work than I typically do. The last few weeks left me feeling me a little overwhelmed, to say the least.
I took a few steps back to evaluate my reactions, my responses, my solutions, and my outlook. These are areas that I still need to grow in, unfortunately, but here are the two lessons on the forefront of my mind:
1. Life Happens
This is a phrase I hear way more often than I would like from both my mother and my grandfather. "Ehh, it happens. Life happens." But I am trying to embrace it and roll with it rather than be bogged down with bitterness about the things outside of my control. It would have been great to not cash some savings bonds set aside for the future to pay off a car repair less than a week after I paid off my car- but I did, and am thankful for the savings bonds that gave me wiggle room. It also would have been great to not spend so much money on doctor co pays, new medicine, argue with insurance and the doctor about other bills, but I did, and am doing the adult thing to try to take care of myself before anything else. So, life happens, and eventually maybe the bummer stuff in life will happen and I will just laugh and roll with it. Or I will try to!
2. It's okay to not be okay sometimes
I think we live in a world filled with pressure to just keep swimming, swimming, swimming no matter what, throwing self-care out of the window in order to maintain responsibilities or image. I experience this pressure internally and externally- I am a helping professional. When I feel terrible and cannot rouse the energy to get out of bed because I have some minor health stuff, I think of the kids I have scheduled for the day and guilt trip myself about letting them down. And then I worry about when I will see them again if my schedule is full. Then I go to work sick or just beat myself up all morning about the kids who might not be okay.
Here's the thing: they will be okay. I have to take care of me, know my body, and know my mind. Not every month will look the same, and not every week will look the same. It is not a comparison game, competition, or reason to push myself so hard I cannot function later. It is life, and it's okay to need a day off, it's okay to decide I should go home if my body is telling me I need to rest. It's okay to cry at home, take a day off from the gym, and take a nap. And sometimes it's okay to need that for a few days to get refreshed. If this has been your experience lately too, push away the guilt or the shame for not feeling great, for choosing yourself and your health over expectations and responsibilities.
Demi Lovato says it best: "You were born to be real, not perfect."
I took a few steps back to evaluate my reactions, my responses, my solutions, and my outlook. These are areas that I still need to grow in, unfortunately, but here are the two lessons on the forefront of my mind:
1. Life Happens
This is a phrase I hear way more often than I would like from both my mother and my grandfather. "Ehh, it happens. Life happens." But I am trying to embrace it and roll with it rather than be bogged down with bitterness about the things outside of my control. It would have been great to not cash some savings bonds set aside for the future to pay off a car repair less than a week after I paid off my car- but I did, and am thankful for the savings bonds that gave me wiggle room. It also would have been great to not spend so much money on doctor co pays, new medicine, argue with insurance and the doctor about other bills, but I did, and am doing the adult thing to try to take care of myself before anything else. So, life happens, and eventually maybe the bummer stuff in life will happen and I will just laugh and roll with it. Or I will try to!
2. It's okay to not be okay sometimes
I think we live in a world filled with pressure to just keep swimming, swimming, swimming no matter what, throwing self-care out of the window in order to maintain responsibilities or image. I experience this pressure internally and externally- I am a helping professional. When I feel terrible and cannot rouse the energy to get out of bed because I have some minor health stuff, I think of the kids I have scheduled for the day and guilt trip myself about letting them down. And then I worry about when I will see them again if my schedule is full. Then I go to work sick or just beat myself up all morning about the kids who might not be okay.
Here's the thing: they will be okay. I have to take care of me, know my body, and know my mind. Not every month will look the same, and not every week will look the same. It is not a comparison game, competition, or reason to push myself so hard I cannot function later. It is life, and it's okay to need a day off, it's okay to decide I should go home if my body is telling me I need to rest. It's okay to cry at home, take a day off from the gym, and take a nap. And sometimes it's okay to need that for a few days to get refreshed. If this has been your experience lately too, push away the guilt or the shame for not feeling great, for choosing yourself and your health over expectations and responsibilities.
Demi Lovato says it best: "You were born to be real, not perfect."
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