Slow Down

This morning, I found myself a little overwhelmed at work. It's been a busy week thus far, and I've noticed the effect its had on me. Yesterday, when I got home from work, I rushed around in a miserable state attempting to complete all of the things I wanted/needed to do. I found no joy in working out, cooking dinner, or even eating dinner. Everything was just a task to complete as soon as possible.

Typically, when I find myself in this state, I take ten minutes to meditate. Last night, I did not offer myself that reprieve, and although I found a little stillness as the night wore on, this morning I feel like my stress has multipled as work continued to pile up.

If you pay close enough attention, your body will let you know when its being mistreated. Maybe it's an ache in your chest or maybe a bubble in your stomach. For me, it's a soreness in my teeth from clenching my jaw. In the past, I'd pop some Tylenol and keep working, but now I know that is only a band-aid. I'm treating the symptom, and not the actual disease, the disease of not taking care of myself.

So, I stopped. I found a good stopping point and I turned on some soft music. I filled up my water bottle and began to hydrate. And then I opened up Notepad and began to write. It's not as good as meditating for me, but its something I can do while at work and it can help me release the tension in my jaw and center myself.

I'm going to take a couple of extra days this weekend to take care of myself. It's what I would suggest to a friend who was feeling overwhelmed, and its important to be a friend to myself.