Am I Doing Enough?
Am I doing enough? I've been asking myself this a lot lately. Am I supporting people enough? Networking enough? Providing enough value? Learning enough? Working enough? The list goes on. Anyone else feeling this way? It's like a new form of FOMO. There has been a lot of pressure on all of us to "make the most" of this time.
I googled how to make the most of your time in quarantine and got over 230 million results. How crazy is that? No wonder we've all been feeling the pressure.
Truth be told, I've been guilty of applying this pressure at times myself. It's an easy trap to fall into. Therefore, I want to take a moment to remind you (and myself) that whatever you do today is enough.
If you don't finish your to do list - it's alright. If you haven't exercised in a week, let yourself off the hook. If you spent an entire day binge watching Netflix - that's alright too. Trust me I've been there.
It's important to remember that even though we are each going through this pandemic, how we are each experiencing it varies. It even changes from day-to-day.
Instead of beating yourself up, here are 2 things to start today:
Treat yourself with empathy
We can be really hard on ourselves. However, we are typically very supportive & empathetic to our friends, colleagues, even strangers. Why is that?
If you are beating yourself up, stop! Then ask yourself, would you say this to your best friend? Most likely not…Instead you'd tell her not to be too hard on herself, that these are challenging times and she should take one-day at a time. Please show yourself the same empathy.
This is often easier said than done. Change will not happen overnight. However, the act of recognizing the negative thoughts, stopping them in their tracks and replacing them with positive ones is incredibly powerful.
Don't neglect self-care
We all know the following analogy: put your own oxygen mask on first before helping those around you. However very few of us actually do this in our daily lives. Instead we prioritize the needs of others - family, bosses, colleagues & friends. Then we get whatever time is "left over." It's time to flip it!
Make self-care your top priority. If you aren't in a good place physically, mentally or spiritually, you won't be able to give your full self to others. This is why it starts with you.
What self-care looks like for you will be unique. Ask yourself the following questions:
What small things in life bring me joy?
When do I feel most relaxed?
What activities do I most enjoy?
Try to incorporate at least 1 or 2 of these into your day and/or week. One last tip - don’t leave it to chance. Rather schedule it on your calendar. It wasn't until I put exercise on my to-do list that I consistently started doing it.
I'd love to hear what has been working for you. Please share in the comments below!