I never learn. Saying ‘yes’ too many times and getting overwhelmed is a vicious pattern I keep repeating. At least this time, I’ve stopped myself early, before the damage got too high. So instead of my stress level continuing to go up, up, up, it’s heading down to a more manageable level. How I’m doing it:
Yoga – I haven’t exercised regularly in forever. I could keep beating myself up over that, or I could start exercising. I’ve done yoga 3 of the last 4 days. Sure, it doesn’t burn the calories of cardio, but it does calm me down. And my back feels much better. Right now, calming down and removing guilt is enough.
Volunteering – I contacted the MS Society and let them know I just don’t feel ready without the training. My contact understood completely and was very supportive of my decision to hold off. Now instead of freaking out that I’ll mess up, I can get the training I need to feel more comfortable. Deep down I know I wouldn’t mess it up if I started now, but I was so anxious about it earlier this week that I know I need to give myself a break from that stress.
House – I’m practicing my delegating skills here. Tim is quite capable of handling a lot of things, and I’m letting him. For example, he’s the main contact with our real estate agent. I’m also breaking down what I need to do into smaller blocks. The current block is focusing on what we need to decide before our next design meeting. Once that’s over, my focus will shift to cleaning out and decluttering our current place.
Fun – I’m making sure I have it, but I’m not letting it stress me out. For example, we received loads of invitations for Labor Day weekend stuff (and most of them came in on one day!). We decided to do all of the evening activities, so that I can sleep in as needed and get things done during the day. Friday night, we may be having dinner at a friend’s house. Easy call there, only have to bring some wine, and we’ll have a blast. Saturday we opted to tailgate and go to a football game that night instead of heading to a water park all day. The water park would have been fun, but it would have been tiring. Some friends wanted to get together for dinner on Sunday, so we’re going to do an easy dinner at our house. Given the menu I’m considering, easy is the key word there. So I know I’ll have loads of fun this weekend, but there will be time to bathe dogs and get some much-needed rest.