Never enough, never good enough. - Page 2

[NellieKatz]

You probably will. I have an annual thing where I suddenly realize that EVERYTHING looks and feels more hopeful, and my energy's back, and I realize....it's spring! I had been in the annual winter pit of doom but didn't realize it till I was OUT.   Happens every year without fail!

Originally Posted by Qestia 

Oh gosh... I keep thinking if spring comes I'll feel better again.

[CI Mama]

A friend recently said something to me that has helped me think differently about this. He said that the problem isn't that we have stress in our lives...we're built to handle stress, it's a natural part of life, we can't get rid of it. The problem is that we don't provide ourselves enough recovery time from the stress. This makes a lot of sense to me.

I've been trying to build small "recovery moments" into my day, instead of just being the mode of go-go-go-go-go-crash. I am allowing myself to veg on the couch with my daughter watching a DVD and thinking of that as a few minutes of recovery time, rather than guilt tripping myself for not doing something more "quality." I have built a weekly meditation time into my work schedule. I might bump it up to two times a week. I am trying to get myself to bed by 10:30 pm every night so that I at least have a chance at 8 hours of sleep. I am hoping these small steps will help me feel like what I have to give is enough.

[*bejeweled*]

Hi CI Mama, I try to do the same thing. I work a little, then I rest a little, then work, then rest. I'm much happier this way. I also have a minimum list for everything.

For example,
Every day I have 2 minimum chores: take out the trash and rinse the dishes.
When I leave the house I leave with 2 minimum things: my bag and water.
When I go to bed I do 2 minimum things: take my medicine and set the alarm clock.

That way, I know I have taken care of the bare minimum and I'm cool. If I do anything more, that's fine. If not, that's fine too.

[MrsGregory]

I like this minimum idea.  I am afraid my minimum lists will be 10 items long though.  This is where hubs comes in I suppose.  He has a much better idea of minimums, which usually horrifies me.