My constant excuse is, “I’ve just had a hard week.” When, in reality, it’s been hard for a lot longer than that.

Keep pushing,
Keep going on,
Keep moving.

Until you’re burnt out and have nothing left to give.

There is something wrong with this picture. We have to be missing some important part of the equation.

This constant hustle can’t be healthy. What am I missing?

The answer is, there is this picture of what the “perfect” professional, adult or model in life is. They can handle anything, be all things to all people, and never drop the ball. Their success continues to build and build. They always reach their goals and have everything they want. They are happy and content and successful.

This is not realistic.

You can’t be all things to all people. You won’t always be happy. You will sometimes drop the ball.

Why?

Because you’re human. Because we don’t have unlimited resources. Because we are finite and can’t possibly anticipate every single thing that might come our way.

So, what is the solution here?

Realistic expectations.

Understanding the proper definition of success. Success has ups and downs and a LOT of hard work. Knowing that we can’t say yes to everything, nor should we. Having good boundaries and knowing what our own personal limits are. Creating space for rest and recuperation. Filling our lives with things that refresh us and fill us up.

And the knowledge that its okay to not be okay.

Some of us [me included] push so hard all the time, because we simply have to. There comes moments that burnout happens. When you are so dang tired that you could cry. You find yourself not wanting to do anything but sleep or have a week to month long vacation. You have hardly any energy and crash at the end of the week.

We can’t always avoid this either. Some seasons are harder than others. Sometimes you simply have to do all the things.

Right now I am working full time, going to school part time, trying so hard to prioritize my faith and still trying to not let my personal life fall to the wayside.

I want to be able to do all the things. I want to be able to go to all the gatherings. I want to be able to say yes to all the things. But, I can’t.

Some people can, I am not one of those people.

Stop beating yourself up for your limits. You are going to have them.

Start understanding your limits and creating space for them so, when you hit them, you aren’t caught off guard.

I know that if I don’t get a solid rest day every week, I am mess the following week and it just keeps carrying over.

I know that on my rest days, I need to not do a lot of things. I am more introverted than extroverted and as such, need to create space for myself where I am not around everyone. I actually NEED alone time to refresh.

You are not taking care of yourself well if you don’t listen to your cues for rest. If you don’t take care of yourself well, how can you possibly take care of others well?

If you picked up that this talk is about self-care, you are correct. Part of self care is not getting down on yourself for being human and needing rest.

It’s having a clear understanding of what your personal goals are in life and shooting for that. If we constantly try to reach these unrealistic goals that society sets for us, we will wind up disappointed and burnt out.

Just as every single person has their own beauty, every person’s success will look different.

So, tune out the other voices and tune into you. What do you personally want to achieve in life? What are you good at? What do you need to rest? What fills your cup back up?

What unrealistic goals and expectations do you have for your life and are you scheduling in space for yourself to rest and revive?

Food for thought.