We All Fall Down

The other day I overheard two women (okay, I was blatantly eavesdropping) discussing how crazy their schedules were. It was fascinating. On one hand, it was clear both were literally exhausted by their busy schedules, but there was also a strong undercurrent of competition between them.

“I’m busier than you!”

Both were at their wit’s end, but neither were willing to give anything up. I rolled my eyes and thought LAME.

After I finished judging them, I realized it’s a trap many of us find ourselves in at one time or another.

A. We can’t say no.
B. We feel compelled to compete with one another.
C. We put everyone and everything before us.

Sound familiar? I’ll take D – for all of the above.

I honestly thought I was pretty good at taking care of myself. And in many ways I was. I generally got plenty of rest and made time for myself. But I also ate poorly, rarely exercised and was stressed out. I was tough on myself – tougher than I was on anyone else. I picked at my flaws, real or imagined.

I thought it was enough that I was somewhat taking care of myself. But it’s not. You can’t function at your best when parts of you are broken. Every part is critical and without it – we all fall down.

The first step is to recognize both the parts working and not working. I’ve made great strides in lowering my stress and reducing my inner critic. Now I’m trying to tackle eating right and exercising. I’ll be honest; I have some resistance. Old habits are truly hard to break. I constantly remind myself to take it day by day and celebrate the victories while letting go of mistakes.

It’ not always easy taking care of me. But darn it – I’m worth it!