How many times a day do you do something difficult?
It may start with just getting out of bed when you haven’t slept well, getting the kids (or yourself) out of the house, prepping food for the day.
These are just the hard things first thing in the morning, things may escalate from there.
Maybe it’s a really difficult patient or family member, maybe it’s a toxic coworker.
Maybe it’s starting to wade through the messages that have piled up.
Maybe it’s the uncertainty of a family member’s health, or bills, or big life events.
We carry a lot around with us. As we all like to say, “it’s always something.”
BUT
We also deal with all these hard things.
Somehow, we don’t seem to focus on that part of it much.
We have one more thing added to our plate, and we find ourselves tipping into overwhelm.
We “don’t know how we are going to do it all.”
And yet, we do it.
Don’t worry, the point here is not to glorify overscheduling, overwork, or people-pleasing (saying yes when our bodies scream no).
The point is to figure out how to feel better DESPITE all the hard things we are doing.
Two quick strategies can be applied here.
Under no circumstance do you want to utter the words “I can’t do this”, not even silently in your head. When you catch yourself saying this just gently remind yourself that you do hard things all the time (as outlined above). It may seem like semantics but reassuring yourself of your abilities can replace the overwhelm with confidence, peace, and maybe even determination. Doesn’t that sound nice?
Ask yourself, what can I do to make this easier? Is there something that can be put off or delegated (even if you could do it better yourself)? Is there somewhere you can create a little space in your day to regroup and recover? Can you take 3 minutes when you park your car to close your eyes and listen to your favorite song (don’t knock it til you try it)? Difficult conversations can be easier if you take three slow deep breaths and drop your shoulders before walking into a patient room. Maybe your day would be easier if you put off emptying the dishwasher until tomorrow so you can settle down for a few minutes instead. Maybe your day is easier if you plan on stopping for something real to eat if you are running in multiple directions. Maybe it will be easier if you remind yourself you can 100% do it.
The possibilities of making things easier are endless…if we stop to even entertain them. When was the last time you asked yourself what you could do to make your day easier?
You can do hard things AND you can find ways to make them easier.
And make sure to plan some down time in your week. THAT may seem really hard to do, but we already addressed that, didn’t we?
Are you too fatigued to even try these types of strategies? I understand because I have been there too. You don’t have to do it alone and you don’t even need to figure out how to do it. Reach out to book a call. Even if we aren’t a good fit to work together, the hour won’t be wasted. In that time I can help you get clarity on why what was once easy for you to do is now sucking the life out of you, and what steps specifically can be taken to reverse that trajectory. You can love the work you’re doing. Click here to schedule a time today.
Hozzászólások