Under Pressure

Cue the queen song... "pressure pushing down on me, pressing down on you, no man asking for..."  (and yes, I'm aware it might be stuck in your head all day... you're welcome!)

Lately a theme of my own life, as well as my work (funny how that works!) has been pressure. I hear it so many ways and see it so many places, but it all comes down to this. The feeling that there is an immediate need or demand for your attention or action. Something that cannot wait. Something that must be done. No ifs ands or buts. I mean NOW!

Only problem is, there's always a steady stream of these demands. These pressures. And so it becomes this horrible, never ending I HAVE to do this or (ominous music)... dum dum duuuuuum... way of living.

And what is the one thing that NEVER has to be done? The one thing that there isn't one single immediate effect if you put it off?  (job - nope, finances - nope, housework - nope, errands - nope, email and texts - don't get me started!)

The one thing that can always be put off is down time.

No one ever says, "Well, Shit!  My boss is totally going to ream me out because I didn't take some ME time."  or "Oh my god, I can't believe I completely forgot to just relax today, what's wrong with me?!" "Hold on, I've got to put 'sit around and relax' in my calendar so I don't forget!"

Imagine a world where you might say, "If I don't just chill out, then WHO, I ask you WHO WILL?!"  or how about a world where you get in a fight with your partner, "Why am I always the one who has accomplish absolutely nothing?"

I wish we lived in a different world.

Because the truth is, someone IS going to have a major problem with your lack of self care. And something really IS going to give due to your complete lack of dedications to this part of your life, but it won't be right away, and it won't feel like a direct consequence. Even though it is...

That someone is YOU and that something is your health (and likely your relationships, your sanity, your quality of life...) None of these are going to call you into an office and tear you a new one (or if they do, count yourself lucky and LISTEN to what they are saying for the love of all things holy!) but if you keep listening to all the immediate needs, all the pressure. You WILL have problems, maybe not today, but eventually.

I hope you'll think about it and make some changes. It really is worth it, and if enough of us can lead by example, it might just catch on. Wouldn't that be a lovely thing! It's funny what a domino effect this can have and it feels so good if you can just get in the habit of it and make it a priority.

And one more thing... if you haven't done this and you aren't used to it, it'll likely freak you out for a while. You might feel like relaxing is harder than continuing to go full tilt. Stick with it. You'll get the hang of it once your brain and your body feel like it's familiar and not some weird unknown threat. Practice makes perfect!

Nicole