With the holidays, comes so much hustle and bustle. Here and there. Who to buy for, how much money I can spend, when I am going to give the presents, and looking into my bank account to see how much cash I went through during my shopping excursion- these are all the common thoughts I have during this season.
I am leaving home tomorrow to go back to Latrobe for an internship class, so I needed to get some of my Christmas shopping done today (especially for my girlfriend, since we are exchanging gifts tomorrow).
I put so much thought into presents. What would be perfect. What would make her smile the most. What has a lot of special meaning and value but won't cost hundreds of dollars. Even though she is the most down to Earth and happy person, I still want to make her face smile when she opens one of my gifts.
SO WITH THAT- comes a lot of pressure.
So much pressure. All the time. Even though it might be "fun" pressure like during the Christmas season, it is still pressure. And I know as for me, that pressure builds up until I explode. So many deadlines, restrictions, and expectations that we put on ourselves to "be the perfect person" and to "get the perfect gift for our loved ones." We try, try, try, and then- and we are burned out.
Why do we do this to ourselves?
It's because we hold ourselves to such high expectations. We want the best for ourselves and our lives and we don't settle for mediocre. We only settle for the best.
In a way, this is a good thing. Because it is these people that make the world go 'round. The perfectionists are the ones who invented some of the most influential things in the human life: cars, electricity, the internet. The people that invented these things never settled for mediocre- they did the best as they possibly could to get the greatest product.
If any of those characteristics describe you as a person (which I mentioned above), it is just important to take time off. If you are always glued to your work and never think breaks are needed- you are so wrong.
Taking breaks are just as important as doing the work itself. I hate taking breaks too, so, you're not alone. When I am invested and focused in on my work at the moment, I never want to take my eyes away and relax. I want to keep going.
But, when we take breaks, it gives our brain time to heal. If it's for fifteen minutes, a hour, or even a day. So many times have I been so frustrated with not being able to figure something out or be in the right headspace. With writing it could be the same. Sometimes, I just can't get into the right mental place to write. So, I've learned that I need to step away for a little, walk around, get something to eat, hydrate, and come back to my work. Then, I am able to get what I need to get done finished a lot easier than I would have if I didn't take the break. My mind was able to rest and then get back to the grind.
Our bodies aren't perfect. Young people think that we can work our bodies so hard and we never need to stop. We grind 7 days a week on and on and never think that breaks are essential. The truth is- YOU GET BURNT OUT.
This semester for me at college I came in swinging. I was so passionate about getting all A's, making honor roll, and bringing up my GPA that every single day. Monday through Sunday I was studying, doing projects, doing work for my on-campus job, swim practices, and not even taking a break to watch a TV show with friends. Then, in early/mid October, I started to absolutely decline. I started to get mad with the world and frustrated with my life. I was tired of constantly being on overdrive. I was sick of it so much that I wanted to quit swimming and refused to do my homework.
The truth is, the burnout that I went though was because I wasn't disciplined enough to know I needed a day or time to rest. I wasn't disciplined enough to know that my brain and my body couldn't handle constant school, work, and athletic stimulation. I needed rest.
After a few days of rest, I was then motivated to get back on the daily hustle.
Hopefully this post made at least a little sense. It's almost midnight so as I have been talking about taking breaks- I think it is time for me to take one too and go to bed. Too much shopping and driving in one day. (And fingers crossed Lauren likes my gifts).
Goodnight and God Bless,
-TJO
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