Today’s blog post’s sole mission is to give you permission to stop grinding.
Stop pushing yourself.
Stop saying yes when you mean no.
Stop expecting more of yourself.
Today, I want you to take a step back and reconnect with the things that actually bring you joy. The things that fill you up. The things that actually give you energy, instead of taking it away.
We’ve been in overdrive for over 6 months now and it has taken its toll on us both physically and emotionally. We are exhausted and burnt out.
The reason you feel so awful, tired and like a failure all of the time isn’t because you’re not doing enough – it’s the exact opposite actually; you’ve had all engines running for a really long time and you’ve finally run out of gas. You’ve hit a wall and it’s not your fault.
Fighting harder and pushing yourself further isn’t helping anymore. So what can you do instead?
Well, after reading this amazing article by Medium called: Your Surge Capacity is Depleted; That’s Why You Feel Awful (which I highly encourage you to read) I discovered that the best thing we can do right now is find activities that bring us joy and help fill us up.
If you’re not sure what those are (or if you even have any) start thinking about some things you do for pleasure only. Activities that you do that have no other purpose but to have fun. Some examples include baking, reading, watching tv, painting, colouring, board games, hiking, crafts, photography, etc.
Begin adding these activities into your day by taking away items that aren’t serving you (like watching the news 24/7 :|). And don’t feel guilty!
I’m not saying this means giving up all responsibilities (both social and personal) or not staying informed – because those are very important – but working and stressing all day and night without time for yourself isn’t going to be productive or efficient in the long run.
In fact, the experts in this article suggest that the more time we can spend doing things that fill us up, the more energy we will have to tackle those important tasks and responsibilities (and likely get them done faster).
Long story short, in order to perform at your best long term, you’ve got to take it easy on yourself. Constantly expecting more of yourself is not realistic and not sustainable in our current climate.
Here is your permission slip to take time for yourself with absolutely no other purpose except to make you feel good.
Because not only do you deserve it, but the world needs you at your best.
xoxo

ps. thank you to Brene Brown Podcast and The Healthy Maven for sharing this article and the inspiration for this post.