Every one of us at some point in our lives gets overwhelmed by the pressures of everyday life. In many cases family and friends depend on us to carry out our daily duties in a timely fashion. Things don’t always run smoothly, and one mistake can spill over to others, and before too long our mountain of errors can look like something that is almost impossible to overcome. We become our own worst critic. Life is not perfect….we are not perfect, and at some point it’s okay to say “Time out, I need a break.”

A car can be driven for miles, but eventually the gas tank has to be refueled…so too the body and soul. To take time out doesn’t mean you’re a “quitter”..it’s not a sign of failure. Even the most successful people will tell you, to get to the next level sometimes you have to recharge the batteries, to provide the thrust to soar through the clouds. The body can only be driven so far without a rest…after awhile judgment becomes hazy, and the immune system, on overload, finds it harder and harder to keep things running healthy. Perhaps inside our bodies are meters that can easily tilt towards the red. It’s up to each one of us to not let that happen…to “cool the engines.” We can only go so far on “overload.”

Each week plan ahead….jot down each day the important things you want to accomplish and while doing so ask yourself, is this too much for me today? Probably you are the only one who understands what you have to accomplish on a daily basis….be kind to yourself. We all ride on this merry-go-round of life….some can take going around ten times without a break, while others can only handle five. It’s a wise person who knows when to say “I need a rest.”

We love our friends, we love our families…we want to be good citizens…we don’t want to let anyone down. Sometimes these tasks become difficult for any human being. We watch the evening news and after awhile our minds start tuning out. We read the daily newspapers and more and more find ourselves gravitating towards the entertainment and sports sections. Why? Maybe it’s our mind’s way of saying “I can only take so much.” We can’t stop the world, but we can stop ourselves from overloading on it. Whose life is it, anyway?

Rest and Relax,

Jennifer Avalon
© 1998 Jennifer Avalon