With my extreme tendency to feel guilty about everything, all of the time, I have started to try implementing “Guilt Free” days periodically, when things get just too overwhelming.
This means that I basically let myself off the hook for all the little things that I beat myself up for endlessly. Things being late to my daughter’s game, forgetting to get milk when I was at the store, not sending a birthday card, missing a deadline at work, forgetting to email someone back, not having the laundry folded, not having the dishes done, not having dinner planned, not working enough on my blog, not getting up at 5 am to do yoga, not playing with my kids enough, not paying a bill on time….this list goes on and on, baby.
It means I don’t tell myself how stupid I am, or how disorganized I am, or what a terrible mom I am or whatever other self-deprocating insults I can throw at myself. I just recognize what happened and move on. Yes, move on and don’t over think it.
This doesn’t mean I don’t care or don’t try, it just let’s me give my brain a break from the psychobabble broken record that keeps us from being able to enjoy the present without the weight of obligation heavy on our shoulders.
We are flooded with a million demands on our time and attention everyday. I find that these demands stack up like a disorganized pile of garbage all around me and I can’t enjoy a single moment of life unless I get this stack in order, handled and cleared up. The problem is that the stack never goes away and never stops growing.
If I intentionally take small breaks from the madness by stopping the guilt cycle, I hope to find some relief from the pressure I put on myself and find a way to poke a hole in the garbage to enjoy the sunshine all around me.
Try it one day and give yourself a little relief. Give yourself a Guilt Free Day, and tomorrow you can go right back to feeling guilty about so you don’t let yourself get too cozy in the idea that you might be doing alright…(just another thing I usually feel guilty about).
RePurpose M.E. Life 