Sometimes we’re our own worst enemies. We have a tendency to put entirely too much pressure on ourselves to achieve our goals or, conversely, we put things off over and over again and never actually start.
I know I see this in my life in both respects. I can either way overdo it and stress myself out trying to do too much, or I have analysis paralysis and I don’t actually ever start.
And every so often, I find the happy medium between the two. You know, ever so rarely.
Where I see this the most is in the gym and in my businesses. I feel like I *have* to workout 5 times a week and if I don’t, I feel like a slacker. And I feel like I *have* to constantly be working or else I won’t accomplish anything or move my business forward.
So I drive myself into the ground, constantly working or moving or feeling like I *have* to do all the things.
But this weekend, for once, I found my happy medium. I just wasn’t feeling a workout. Normally, I will push myself to workout, even when I don’t feel like it. And I usually go Saturday mornings and enjoy the partner workout with our gym.
But last week was rough. I wasn’t sleeping well or enough. And when the alarm went off Saturday morning, I felt so rundown and tired and sore from the past week. And I listened to my body! For once in a long while, I took the day off and didn’t workout and I didn’t WORK either!
And you know what? The world didn’t fall apart!
How many of y’all are like that? Keep pushing and pushing and pushing until you fall apart? It’s crazy how many of us actually do this!
My friends, rest is an important part of your routine. And if it’s not, it needs to be! Despite what you may think, it won’t set you back in your workout or business routine. It usually helps you reset and refresh your body and mind.
When I’m in the midst of it, it feels like it’s never ending. Like I’m never going to get out of feeling rundown or get over the funk… but I also know I usually wake up the next day feeling so much better.
So I give myself permission to rest when I need it. And honestly, I need to schedule in time to rest! I can’t constantly be going 100mph. And you shouldn’t be either!
On the other side of this is the never get started phase. I’ve had a lot of things I’ve put off because I was scared or didn’t know how to do it or I thought it was going to take too long. Really, you can insert any excuse here.
But what I’ve found is that everything is usually scarier in my mind than actually doing it. And the time will pass whether I do the scary things or just waste time worrying about them. And even worse, when I start them, they’re usually easier and I pick it up much faster than I thought!
It’s crazy how much time I’ve wasted worrying about or being afraid of doing things. <Insert eye roll> It makes me wonder where I’d be if I actually did all the things I was too scared to do. So with those things, I need to find my happy medium. I need to push myself when life gets scary and do the hard things, even when I am scared. And I also need to ensure I’m resting and not running myself into the ground.
This is the reality of life, huh? Pushing enough to make things happen without pushing too hard to the point of exhaustion.
Whew. Life is finicky that way.
I hope y’all have a great week, where you push enough to get started but don’t run yourself into the ground. I pray you find your happy medium.
Whitney
