Be Realistic About What And How Much You Can Handle At The Present Moment, And Plan Accordingly.
Art For Art's Sake: Vol 2 Part 13
Author Note:
Rubina’s Bojra is going on a break in August, other than the 13th and 27th Sundays.
Learn to relax. Your body is precious, as it houses your mind and spirit. Inner peace begins with a relaxed body.
- Norman Vincent Peale
A trivial health scare last month made me can't help but accept the fact that I was overdoing as a writer and as a human.
Too many projects were pulling me in different directions. Too many errands needed my attention. And to make sure I could tackle them all, I (knowing it would eventually backfire) scheduled every waking moment of my day with work, tasks and errands.
When my health scare forced me to take a break, I admitted to myself that I had fallen into the "hustle" trap again. Thankfully, I have had enough experience with the side effects of hustle to be aware of its return.
Not only was this hustling physically hurting me, but I was also constantly mentally and emotionally stressed and went spiritually offline. That was taking me deeper into constant fatigue and despair.
Not a fun place to live in.
I knew I had to make a change immediately. So I did. I stopped planning my day.
Let's be honest. We all know about everything we need to get done or would like to do. They never leave our minds. We especially remember the projects and tasks to which our hearts are hooked. So it's not the case that if we don't write them down, we'll forget about it.
And if we do write them down, then life happens, and we can't check them off our list, that adds the additional pressure of "not doing enough." Therefore, "not feeling enough."
Again. Not a fun place to live in.
The moment I stopped planning my day, I sensed my body relax. Even my mind stopped its chatter.
I remember one early evening. A lovely rain was pouring outside, and I immediately craved a warm cup of coffee. Taking my time to whisk the coffee and sugar until frothy, then pouring in the warm milk and swirling it around, making beautiful patterns, I sat by the balcony, sipped the cup full of love and slowed time down.
No phone. No Instagram, YouTube or Whatsapp. No TV. No songs. No talking.
Just rain, me and a cup of coffee.
And I heard a voice inside me say, "Can't even remember when was the last time I felt this calm."
I am learning from this experience that I MUST NOT fill every minute of my day with things to do. Or even the thoughts about the million things I have to do.
Those tasks are going nowhere. Some will be waiting for. Some, I hope, will find someone else to bother. But just because I have a shit-ton to do, doesn't mean I have to fill up my day with that shit.
Every time I feel like I am not doing enough, I have to remind myself that it is okay to take a break. It is okay to rest. It is okay to do just one task for the day because, anyway, the day will give you other things to take care of. I don't need to be the INFJ-Capricorn-people pleaser workaholic 24x7.
And most importantly, remember that an invisible power is also at play in my life. So, if something needs to get done and I am the only person who can do it, that higher force will make sure I do it.
Does this mean you throw everything out the window? No.
What this means is to be realistic about what and how much you can handle at the present moment and plan accordingly.
A lesson that, apparently, my stubborn ass won't get. I hope it gets it this time and not throw us off again.
