Give, Give, Give… Break?

Many people have been raised with the go until you drop mentality. Which is great and all, until you drop. Then you are down for the count and no use to anyone.

There are those wrote phrases… “you can’t give from an empty cup” “put your oxygen mask on first” “take care of you so you can take care of others”. And while the intention behind them is valid, and beneficial, how often do we actually do this, and do so without guilt?

I hear many a person say they would take care of themselves, but it then takes time away from the one(s) they care(ing) for. If you are going to exercise for 30 minutes a day, that’s 30 minutes that you can’t attend to something that needs done for the house, your kid, your parent, you partner, you pet, your boss, your… you get my point. And that’s just with exercise, heaven forbid you consider getting a massage to work out all the stress that you are carrying in your body, or talk to someone who can give you impartial feed back, or take a nap, or take a leave of absence from work. 

The fear of letting others down can be so strong that we don’t even realize that we aren’t on our A game… we aren’t even on our C game. What is it that makes us continue to push, and give despite the emotional exhaustion we feel? Is it guilt? Is it the reaction from others? Is it the “shoulds”? I really hate the shoulds, it’s just a great word to use to beat yourself up for something that you aren’t/can’t/won’t/haven’t done. 

I challenge you with this, if you aren’t even on your C game, how much are you really benefitting others? How much help are you really giving them?  Just like in a big sports event, even the star player needs to be pulled out sometimes to allow them to rest and regroup. Taking a break does not equal being weak. Self care does not equal failure.   Better to take the break than completely break and be of no use to anyone.

So, do that exercise, go to that pampering, read that book, call that friend, so whatever it is that feeds your soul and refills your bandwidth that you continuously pour from in your attempt to care for others. If we call could just take just of good of ourselves as we do others, imagine how much better we would feel.