Free, Connected, & Powerful: how three words can help you find what makes you happy.
After wading into another busy season without asking for help, having an awful day without a break, and saying I f@#$ing hate this (in regards to my life) at least 7 times in one day I realized I need to make a change.
Do you ever feel as if you all of the beauty in the world sitting right in front of you and you can’t feel it??
That is burnout.
Our family runs a greenhouse and garden center, so Luke, being the head grower is consumed with work from January 1 - June 30. I am welcome to do whatever creative events that I desire, but he isn’t available for support. This past March & April our kids had an Easter Break & a Spring Break and were home with me, all while I decided to make a new collection and have my Give Event while Luke worked 7 days/week from 6 am - 7 pm.
Let’s just say it was more than I could handle.
I have a very consistent seasonal cycle.
Find Inspiration.
Work until I have nothing left to give.
Completely burn out.
Move on to the next thing before I’ve recovered.
When our Garden Center opened on April 9, I followed step 4, and worked all day, every day at the garden center, while still keeping up with kids & school, forgetting lunches… etc. Again, not listening to my body, my soul, & my mind that were screaming this is too much! You need a break!!
This burnout… and just complete emotional exhaustion lead me to ask this question. I mean really… what’s all this for!!
How do you avoid burnout?
I think it’s a natural inclination in our society to take care of everyone else’s happiness and well-being first. But what happens when you’re so depleted that you have no energy to take care of yourself? What happens when you’re so emotionally exhausted that you feel desperate & directionless, like you’re an out of body parent saying things you’d never say to your children if you took the break you needed, but unable to hold back… or to hold back but not mean any of the words coming out of your mouth. That was where I was at. Feeling desperate and having no idea where happiness was.
Do you ever find that you find the words you need to hear at the right moment? Like God is right there organizing your Pinterest feed so you find the the right article at the right time? I found the most incredible article by Oprah’s emotional well-being Guru, Martha Beck’s article: How Three Simple (But Powerful) Words Can Put You On the Path to Happiness. Her simple approach made me see how to simplify my approach, how to set my compass, & how to avoid chronic burn out.
My words are free, powerful, & connected.
When I allow the opposite into my life, I burn out.
Being a parent 7 days/week without a break robs me of my freedom. When I am exhausted I lose my ability to connect. When I am acting in ways I am not proud of out sheer desperation and lack of prioritizing myself, I feel powerless. With this knowledge in hand I can make better choices that serve me and my family next year.
I can’t tell you how freeing and what a source of power knowing this brings me. This revelation was just too big to keep to myself! What are you 3 words?? Finding them will be a game changer!!
Have a great day!!
Mandy