Do you ever feel overwhelmed? Or maybe just really really busy? Do you ever have a sneaking suspicion that you are spending tons of time on something that you may not be passionate about or that you’re going the wrong direction?
These are questions I’ve been mulling over the past couple of months and why I came to the conclusion that it’s okay to need a break.
As some of you may have noticed, I’ve been offline for the past few weeks. If you are one of my dear newsletter subscribers, then you got a heads up that I was taking a break from the blog for a short time. Some of you were even sweet enough to send me a quick note encouraging me that a break was a good idea!
Taking some time away from the blog and social media this month was really good for me. It allowed me to focus on other important things in my life right now and get away from the pressure of keeping up with a 24/7 online world.
It also made me wonder why more of us didn’t take breaks from time to time.
Many of us feel overworked and stressed out, and yet don’t see a break as a viable option. We give all kinds of reasons for not taking a break such as “too many people are depending on me” or “if I don’t take care of this it won’t happen/won’t get done in the right way.” We freely use these excuses, but don’t take our health or the consequences of continuing to live full of stress into account.
Learning to let go of the things that are stressing me out has been so good for me these past few weeks. It’s humbling to remember that even though the blog or a certain project may seem incredibly important to me, odds are no one besides me is going to worry much if I take some time away to rest.
Because I have let blogging take the back burner for awhile, I’ve had more time to do other things that I care about like going on a quick vacation with my husband and finally getting a tiny bit of a garden started (more on that soon!) I’ve been able to focus on my other jobs and not worry about constantly balancing things going on in the online world as well.
And guess what? I have a feeling that I’m not the only one feeling like I need a break. We all have times when we’re overtired and doubt what we’re doing, and sometimes we just need to give ourselves permission to take a break. Permission to step back from something that may be stressing you out. Allowing yourself to evaluate where your life is going and how well things are balanced right now.
If you are caught up in a project or activity that is stressing you out, I encourage you to take a break. Whether it’s only a week or even two months, taking a moment to breathe and time to examine your direction might be just what you need to refresh your spirit and give you more energy in your daily life.
Are you feeling overwhelmed? What ways can you take a step back from what you’re doing and give yourself time to rest and examine your life?
