Does this sound like you?:
- “How long is this going to take?”
- “I’m busy.”
- “I don’t have TIME for this.”
If so, you’re not alone.
We have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in. We’re tired, rushed, and chasing the clock. We’re answering emails, while flipping pancakes, picking Christmas trees, making holiday plans, walking dogs, and trying to do it all with a smile so tight it makes our teeth crack.
When we’re pulled in a hundred directions, it’s natural to want to look at our schedule and see where we can cut things out to make room for more pressing commitments. One of the first things to get cut is SELF-CARE.
Our self-care might include some of the following:
- Meditation – “Quiet the mind.”
- Creative expression – “Color, dance, or making things.”
- Quality time – “Alone time, family time, or laughing with friends.”
When we’re stressed to the max, self-care might look like this:
- Meditation – “I can do this at stoplights on the way to work…”
- Creative expression – “Waste of time. I’ll pick it up again after the holidays.”
- Quality time – “I can get errands done during alone time, and Facetime for the rest.”
We become impatient with ourselves, with others, and sometimes with the recovery process.
While the holiday’s can feel challenging, they are also a tremendous opportunity to go back to the basics, and start over again. Whether your work is with setting boundaries, shame resilience, co/counter-dependence – you can almost guarantee there will be a trigger or two during the holidays.
What would it feel like if we changed our perception of words like: stress, anxiety, anger, frustrations, sadness, or loneliness – to opportunity, possibility, choice, or, maybe even… a gift?
“The moments in life that feel like death, give you life.” ~ Lindsay Boccardo
