July 7: Ask and You Shall Receive
Costa Rica was in a word...AMAZING! It certainly was a fitness vacation. We were on the go constantly...except that bus ride to the Caribbean beach side that took forever and a day! The memories may be fleeting but the pictures will last us a lifetime. We milked cows, went on hikes, rode horses up & down mountains and through rain forests, buzzed around faster than hummingbirds, flipped and zip lined all through the cloud forest, played with monkeys and sloths, kayaked through the jungle and caught some ocean waves, rode bikes, danced, played pool, and in every moment new friendships were made. Pura vida (full of life)!
But now that I'm back....I feel like I need a vacation FROM my vacation. It seems the pace of my life did not slow down with the pace of island life. I have returned energized and ready to start anew...but oddly exhausted at the same time. After having peace in my head for a week, I can now admit, to myself, that I have taken on too much. I have taken from life's buffet of tasks and responsibilities one too many times. My plate is too full. I teach my BCamp classes, take care of Bella, have a corporate day job (albeit as a freelancer), and am studying for pilates certification. And all the other little stuff in between like dishes (load and unload that dishwasher), laundry (sort and fold and put away), and grocery shopping (where's that list?). You know the drill. You have the same long to do list every day. How do we do it? Every day, over and over. It's enough to make you want to eat a bag of chips or a pint of B&J (Ben & Jerry). Step away from the bag and carton...take a deeeeeep breath.
As crazy as life can get, I know my outlet is exercise....that's why I love my first job as a trainer. That helps me get back to my center. What is your outlet? Reading a book? Writing in a journal? Sewing? Knitting? Painting? Drawing? Writing the next great novel? Whatever it is, make time for it, and you, every day. Don't forget to add yourself to your to do list.
We are 30 days into this challenge. I was in the BCamp office today and said I need to reboot and refocus for the next 60 days. Then I realized, I need to find a healthy path beyond just the next 60 days. Baby steps. So my goals for the next 30 days is to 1) learn to say NO (kindly) to adding more things on my already crowded plate and 2) learn to ask for help. Now, if you know me, I'm type A to the core. So learning to ask for help is hard for me. Stupid, I know. Sometimes I go about doing everything myself and wonder why no one (read: husband) will help me. For example, why do I always have to do the laundry? Wouldn't it be nice if he did it some times? But that's my fault. I can't expect people to read my mind. I manage an account team for my corporate day job. My family is a team, too. Why can't I manage my family team? It is ok to delegate and share responsibilities. I don't have to do everything (although my type A personality is disappointed in self when I seem unable to do it all!). Get over it!
Ask and you shall receive....I'll ask him to do the laundry next week (I've done about 4 since I've been home already!).
Spouses and significant others that are reading, without being asked clean the kitchen or the bathroom or make the bed(s) or load/unload the dish washer or grocery shop or do the laundry (putting it away, too!) or anything to help out around the house. A helping hand around the house says more than a bouquet of flowers or box of chocolates (though these don't hurt either!).
And remember the most powerful words are PLEASE and THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU. Make these words essential to your every day vocabulary.
I'm asking you....please keep reading. Bye!
