We've been pretty busy.
Patty's hosted a bajillion parties at her home and welcomed a new grandbaby!
I've re-opened a library that has been closed for a mini renovation.
And Joan is in the midst of compiling stories for her latest work:
Unlocking the Secrets of Successful Women
These are the kind of busy that can be so stressful it pushes out all other things, you know that kind of busystress, right? The kind where all the fun stuff gets shoved under the bed of your life and you forget to do things that bring you joy, or you think you don't have enough time for the things that bring you joy.
Sometimes the busy is so stressful that along with choosing not to do the fun things we forget to do some of the important things. Yikes.
I won't bore you with my actual busy--suffice to say, I had so much crap shoved under the bed of my life I forgot to set up an appointment for my son. A pretty important one. How did I simply forget? And how can I change that from happening again?
Busy can be insidious and Stress is always wicked. The combination of the two seems to throw our brains into a state of malfunction. Now, I'm not talking fight or flight stress, more of a low-grade constant stress. (Although, in the middle of all this low grade stress, my husband and I watched our son get hit on the football field, resulting in a mild concussion--that was an injection of some high stress to go along with the low grade stress!) so, busy + low-grade constant stress= brain miss function.
All I wanted to do during this time was come home from work, get in my PJs, sit on the couch, and look at Pinterest. That's it. I actually did more than that, but only begrudgingly. Even now, I had to really really talk my brain into writing a post.
I think we all know (logically) how not to let busy and stress win, but when we're in the throws of it, the knowledge evacuates our brains! Dang.
I saw a picture of a tattoo on the inside of a woman's wrist: focus. Perhaps if we all had tattoos that reminded us of things we need to do (or Polaroids like in the movie Memento), we'd be less stressed.
Focus
Breathe
Smile
Call the doctor to set up an appointment for your son -- maybe not a tattoo of that last one.
I think this is why inspirational quotes call to us, it reminds us of how we should be.
Maybe that's why all I wanted to do was look at Pinterest--there are some awesome inspirational quotes on there! Maybe a tiny part of my brain was trying to pinch me into remembering who I was supposed to be.
A woman who smiles. And does stuff. Other than sitting on the couch.
So, for now, I keep an image of that tattoo (right up there) in my brain. I may whip out a Sharpie and mark my wrist. It's a reminder to not let the busy or the stress win.
How do you defeat busy and stress?
Patty's hosted a bajillion parties at her home and welcomed a new grandbaby!
I've re-opened a library that has been closed for a mini renovation.
And Joan is in the midst of compiling stories for her latest work:
Unlocking the Secrets of Successful Women
These are the kind of busy that can be so stressful it pushes out all other things, you know that kind of busystress, right? The kind where all the fun stuff gets shoved under the bed of your life and you forget to do things that bring you joy, or you think you don't have enough time for the things that bring you joy.
Sometimes the busy is so stressful that along with choosing not to do the fun things we forget to do some of the important things. Yikes.
I won't bore you with my actual busy--suffice to say, I had so much crap shoved under the bed of my life I forgot to set up an appointment for my son. A pretty important one. How did I simply forget? And how can I change that from happening again?
Busy can be insidious and Stress is always wicked. The combination of the two seems to throw our brains into a state of malfunction. Now, I'm not talking fight or flight stress, more of a low-grade constant stress. (Although, in the middle of all this low grade stress, my husband and I watched our son get hit on the football field, resulting in a mild concussion--that was an injection of some high stress to go along with the low grade stress!) so, busy + low-grade constant stress= brain miss function.
All I wanted to do during this time was come home from work, get in my PJs, sit on the couch, and look at Pinterest. That's it. I actually did more than that, but only begrudgingly. Even now, I had to really really talk my brain into writing a post.
I think we all know (logically) how not to let busy and stress win, but when we're in the throws of it, the knowledge evacuates our brains! Dang.
I saw a picture of a tattoo on the inside of a woman's wrist: focus. Perhaps if we all had tattoos that reminded us of things we need to do (or Polaroids like in the movie Memento), we'd be less stressed.
Focus
Breathe
Smile
Call the doctor to set up an appointment for your son -- maybe not a tattoo of that last one.
I think this is why inspirational quotes call to us, it reminds us of how we should be.
Maybe that's why all I wanted to do was look at Pinterest--there are some awesome inspirational quotes on there! Maybe a tiny part of my brain was trying to pinch me into remembering who I was supposed to be.
A woman who smiles. And does stuff. Other than sitting on the couch.
So, for now, I keep an image of that tattoo (right up there) in my brain. I may whip out a Sharpie and mark my wrist. It's a reminder to not let the busy or the stress win.
How do you defeat busy and stress?
Well, as focus is my word for the year I totally understand. I want to write TRUTH in sharpie on my arm until I can rationalize paying for it to be marked on my body forever. Eventually that couch time will be less and less, it always is. I watched Bones for a week and a half instead of quilting or editing photos and I feel lots better after that and slightly more ready to get off the couch.
ReplyDeleteHeather, I actually did right the word "focus" on my arm yesterday. I'd forget about it and then I'd see it and it made me smile...and focus! Thanks for the words of encouragement, couch time has already lessened.
Delete