Thursday; March 23

Every so often I will have one of the moments where I will feel like I am on the verge of shutting down. It usually happens when I have been going at a pretty good clip, then someone asks me to do one more thing. I can feel the muscles in my jaws tighten and a pain radiating from the top of my head into my shoulders and down through my back. When I get to this point I typically think, don’t people realize that they are asking too much from me? Don’t they know how much I have going on? It is interesting that, when I am in the right frame of reference, the answer is “No, they don’t!”. The people who are asking something of me have no clue what I have been doing – they aren’t intentionally overloading me – they are just making a request of me.

Interestingly, the only person who can control the pressures of my schedule is me. I am the one who has the insight into how full my plate is and when I need to take a breather. The problem is I am not very good at it! Whether it is fueled by a desire to help or the fear of disappointing someone, I have a problem with overcommitting – or at least feeling overwhelmed. Rather than harboring ill-will toward people, I would be better off prioritizing my requests and distinguishing between the urgent and the important.

Does anyone else feel this way? I would like to believe that this is my own personality quirk, but I have a feeling I share the experience with a lot of other people. Let’s help each other work on ways we can get what needs to be accomplished completed … and remind each other to relax and enjoy the chance to help people.

Think About It!

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