I recently shared a post on my Facebook page that really resonated with me about overstimulation. The reason I shared it, was not for sympathy, but because I knew that it would resonate with so many other women I know. We ARE overstimulated every day. We are mothers, partners, workers, homemakers, the list can go on. I often find myself saying to my children “Just give me a minute”, not because there is something that I need to do, but because I have too many thoughts in my head in that moment in time that I just can’t get a focus on a single one of them in it’s own right.
Life feels so busy right now doesn’t it? Busy with getting back to life post lock down, busy with worry of how we are all going to run out of electricity and money, busy with trying to ‘live our best life’. YOLO and all that.
I am so privileged in my job that I get to meet some incredible women, who often actually become good friends. We talk, we share, and the theme is so often the same. So many women who are beyond excellent at something they do in life- their job, their parenting, their hobby, or their kindness as a human being. Every single one of us has an amazing trait that is unique to us. But do you know what we do more than anything? We compare ourselves to ALL of these different things that ALL of these people can do that we see before us and sell ourselves short because we as an individual can’t do it ALL!! We set ourselves up for failure, and as the saying goes… Comparison is the thief of joy.
So right now I give you permission to give yourself a pat on the back, look into yourself for the 1 thing that you do well (there are probably heaps more but let’s start simple) and remind yourself that other people see that trait in you and look on in admiration! Other people think you are amazing so you can too!
The other privilege I have is to work in an industry where I can help be that change for people, providing treatments and therapies and rituals that allow people to escape even just for a short while. Away from the noise and the clutter in our heads, away from the overstimulation, away from the demands in life.
I’m spending time at the moment on building my own tool kit of things that will help me relieve the pressures of life and one of those things I am trying to do is create some wellbeing treatments that are easily accessible for anyone who just wants a ’time out’ to reset and recharge. I look forward to sharing these with you. The biggest tool I feel I need in my wellbeing kit is Time. Not to be able to fit something else in, but empty time, time where I have taken something away. I have been trying to fill that space with things like 5 minute meditations, yoga, reading, massage. And guess what, the housework still gets done and the children still get fed! I did, however, buy myself 3 magazines a few weeks ago and have yet to read them… but baby steps!!!
There are no short cuts or “life hacks”; everything takes work. You’ve just got to take a plan one step at a time starting with you. It’s ok to say no to something you don’t want to go to. It’s ok if you haven’t given your child an Instagram worthy birthday. It’s ok if you don’t get to the bottom of the laundry basket. It’s ok to take a bath instead of a shower even though it takes longer. It’s ok to sit and read a magazine instead of emptying the dishwasher. If it’s something YOU want to do, it’s OK to do it. And if it gives you time away from the overstimulation of life then even better!
So now I set you a challenge. Tell me in the comments 1 thing that you do well, maybe something that you should give yourself credit for but don’t. Something that makes you, you. I can’t wait to hear about it!
I’ll start the ball rolling and say that my trait is calmness, composure and the kindness to help anybody. Oh, and the tenacity (or stubbornness!) to never give up on a situation. I often get told by people they don’t know how I do it all. The truth is I don’t. I have lots of help and even then I still don’t achieve everything I am supposed to! I regularly have days where I feel the fear and can’t complete what needs completing, but I am now teaching myself that that’s ok. I am hoping that by opening a thread of honesty people feel ok to speak up, to realise we don’t have to achieve it all, and to compare ourselves only to real people who are just like you and me.
Thank you for reading, and I hope maybe this has made you feel good/empowered/accountable/motivated or any other word you see fit! Do you know anyone who could do with reading this today? Share it with them using the buttons below.
Kerry x