Do you know that you could enjoy doing something, yet it can at times feel like drudgery?
That's what happened to me about a week ago.
The previous week was very busy for me. Ironically, that was the week I wrote about how busy many of us claim to be. That week ended with a family road trip over the weekend that prevented me from finishing the newsletter that should have gone out last week.
During the 6-hour drive back home that Sunday, I tried to put the newsletter together but I was mentally exhausted. I wasn't driving, so I thought I should be able to pull it off. I knew some of you would be expecting that edition first thing Monday morning, and I was determined to deliver come hell or high water. But it was like pulling teeth.
Then, it struck me.
I realized that I was putting undue pressure on myself to deliver in spite of everything screaming at me that I should take a break. Because of the trip and the activities that weekend, my sleep had been cut short during the previous two nights. The fatigue was now catching up with me.
I was tired, both physically and mentally.
Yes, I have a personal commitment to delivering the newsletter to you weekly. That's one of the reasons I've tried in the past to inform you ahead of time whenever anything tried to derail that commitment. My sense of obligation won't let me do otherwise.
I eventually realized what was going on and decided you didn't put that expectation on me. I put it on myself. So I decided to just stop, skip that newsletter altogether and not even tell you about it! And most of you didn't even notice.
Okay, maybe you did 😄 But can you relate to this?
Have you ever engaged in an activity regularly and consistently that you sometimes feel a sense of obligation to continue?
And when specific situations arise, preventing you from delivering, do you sometimes feel that you're letting people down?
You most likely do.
I think it’s time for you to give yourself a break.
I want to be careful here and say that this is not an excuse to avoid delivering on what you've promised, especially if people are counting on you. Doing so is a quick way toward destroying your own credibility.
That’s not what I'm speaking of here.
Even if people are depending on you, the message I want to pass along here is that you prioritize your own mental health. Some of us are running on mental fumes in the name of being relevant and delivering on what we think others expect of us.
You need to give yourself a break sometimes. You need to know your body well enough that you allow it to rest and rejuvenate whenever it needs it. It's even better when you're proactive and take regular rests before your body starts screaming for help.
It's my hope that leaders in organizations can become more attuned to when their people need this kind of break, and actively ask them to do so.
This is beyond their taking a PTO (paid time off) or vacation day. Many people don't take PTO just to rest. We spend our vacation time doing more stuff. In the end, we return even more tired than when we left.
This has resulted in people just dropping dead suddenly due to stress. Don't do this to yourself. There are people counting on you. There are people who will suffer if you suddenly break down or you're gone.
Think about them, and take good care of yourself.
Just take a break once in a while.