SLOWING DOWN IS PART OF THE RECIPE: MY POPULAR OPINION

It has been a while since I’ve had the brain juices flow to write anything. That’s ok, I needed to slow down. I knew my brain and body needed a break after being in high social media gear since early November pushing Black Friday, Christmas and then trying to close off all orders before I headed out on a month’s vacation!

That said, in a recent social post I stressed the importance of taking breaks and taking them as often as needed.  I like to call it “catching my breath” and then get back on whatever hustle bus you are on and keep going. Not to mention, with perimenopause in full effect, my body reminds me FAST that, “girl you better slow down or imma hot flash you hard OR guess what, you’re not sleeping for the next few days” – and that’s real talk! #iykyk

I believe in taking breaks or even just slowing down and doing so as often as needed so naturally, it’s the advice I gave someone recently. The person was tapped out to a point of feeling down and low for days and went on to feel guilty about feeling like they were not contributing to society per say. I’m no therapist and all I do is share my personal experiences and opinions through my writing.  I for one have learnt many times over that rest & recovery is part of your success. With that said, it is important to note that (especially as women) we’re SO hard on ourselves, and there is no need to be.

I’m happy to report that said person took the advice and gave themselves a well-deserved wellness break and looking back, realized how much they needed it and how much their body thanked them!

Fam, we do not need to be constantly busy, booked, or frantically rushing around and grinding to show that we’re productive or just “busy.”   Geez, I personally don’t have the time to prove any of that to anyone. Funny enough, once upon a time I was that gal. I had this notion that I needed to work harder in my job and push harder than anyone else in the gym – for various reasons – to be noticed and to be taken seriously. I was her for a long time until I realized (through experience) that:

1. It was not sustainable and
2. When you are down and out – nobody cares. In fact, they usually want more out of you.

We’re adults and even though we need to be reminded of our own worth from time to time, I believe that we all know the difference between quality and quantity. By this I mean being productive by working smarter vs juggling too many things for sake of being busy. By doing this we run the risk of diluting the quality of what we have to offer by spreading ourselves too thin.

I’m not the first (nor will I be the last) to share my experiences, but I do because the hope is that it can help others. Me – always a work in progress but the difference these days is that I’m ok with hitting that pause button. The game changer for me was making it consistent and making my breaks and rest days part of my day/week wherever possible. It’s not an overnight fix and I’ll admit, some days are harder than others.

There are many ways to take breaks and if you’re struggling with the how, the first step is MAKING TIME. Sometimes that is the hardest part, but practice makes better.  If you are stuck, here are a few small thought starters:

• Make it part of your schedule.
• Meditate and/or journal.
• Take time off social media.
• Do something creative.
• Move for at least 30 minutes every day.

My first 2023 blog post can also help as I share personal context – click here.

Life throws all kinds of things at us and sometimes it feels like everything is happening at once. We’ve all been there and we’ve all not known what the answer was/is at some point, but we pushed through. Now, if that “pushing through” includes taking a rest along way, take as long as you need and most of all, do it guilt free. Planes fuel up, cars gas up, animals take water breaks, babies, toddlers (and some adults) take daily naps to keep going so why is there an expectation, which is only from ourselves in most cases, to keep going till we literally have no more to give?

As we all sit and reflect on the past year and start thinking about the one ahead, make sure you put YOU first. The beginning of the year comes with the pressure of setting goals and/or resolutions and while you are doing that, make sure they’re realistic and that you’re doing it for YOU first and foremost. If you are doing it to people please or prove a point, it’s not going to be fun and once the fun factor is missing, we start questioning why we are doing it.

My hope is to get you thinking about you and your well-being as you ring in the new year ahead.

Stay strong and stay beautiful friends. Keep doing you and keep filling your cup with whatever it is you need to keep you going.

FULL VACAY MODE!