My plate is full…
And I don’t mean the one I am eating from. The plate of my life is full, and if I tell the truth it is really overflowing. I am overwhelmed, exhausted, resigned, and frustrated. I am going in circles and go to bed at night thinking I didn’t get enough done!
Is this you? Do you wonder how your plate got so full? Do you wonder how you might be able to influence this?
- Put self-care on your plate. Taking care of yourself will give you more energy, focus, and efficiency in accomplishing your goals and commitments.
- Get a bigger plate. Are you doing everything yourself? Do you feel personally responsible for getting the household and family in order before and after work, while working a full-time job? Begin inquiring into why it is you feel that way. Begin to look around you and see who you can ask to support you…do things for you. Delegate things that aren’t required of you. This will require you being really honest about what you are doing and why!
- Choose discomfort over resentment. With this mantra, Brene Brown, PhD teaches us to give ourselves space to say no (or yes). Choose the discomfort of a few minutes to say no to a request over hours, weeks, or years of resentment when we say yes when we really want to say no. Look at what you are truly committed to accomplishing – make a list of those things and judge your yeses and nos against those commitments.
- Take things off your plate. Use your list of commitments to reevaluate what you are already doing. Re-negotiate with the people that you said yes to.
- Declutter. Remove distractions from your physical and mental space. Let go of objects that don’t serve you. Take a break from the constant barrage of emails, texts, calls, social media alerts.
These are just a few small ways that you can begin to see the plate again…Which will you implement today?
