That’s how my morning started today. I woke up feeling tired and not wanting to even leave my bed let alone the house. All week I’ve felt defeated and overwhelmed and just simply not motivated to show up. I think we all have days/weeks/months like this. For me, showing up even when it’s hard has been the biggest challenge for me. I accept defeat easily when I’m feeling overwhelmed. Having a “woe is me!” attitude is something I have to fight off viciously on the bad days.
The podcast that google happened to play this morning was about foundation. It talked about having a steady foundation so that when the wind blows, we don’t get weary. This week the wind has been blowing from every direction; work, relationships, internal struggles, you name it. I’ve been exhausted before even starting my day. I haven’t wanted to go to the gym. Work has been pulling me in a million directions. My kindness and patience in personal relationships has felt depleted. Anything you can imagine I’ve probably felt this week. The only time I’ve felt safe and at peace is when I’m at home sitting mindlessly watching tv with my phone in the other room and my pajamas on.
Normally this funk would keep me down. Normally I would stay in bed. I would half ass my jobs at work. I would make up an excuse to not go to the gym. I would tell myself “Oh you’ll restart Monday. Give up on the rest of the week.” But I haven’t. I’ve gone to the gym. I’ve given it my all at work. I’ve shut down exterior stress that doesn’t concern me. I’ve simply taken a deep breath, recalibrated, and kept pushing. Other people have been able to tell that I was under water a bit this week but I decided not to give in and instead say “I’m having a good day” even though I wasn’t.
Every week something is going to come up. I’m never going to have a perfect day or a perfect week or a perfect life. But if I let that stop me and ruin my mood and my motivation, I’m never going to progress. I’m never going to excel at my job. I’m never going to maintain healthy relationships. I’m never going to be healthy. For me, that’s just not possible. I don’t have to have a perfect life. But I want to take steps every day to progress through the struggles. If it were easy, there would be no satisfaction in reaching my goals. I can’t just give up every time the wind blows. It would be easy to lock my doors, hide under the covers, and wait for the storm to pass. But that’s not what I choose to do. I’m going to bundle up in my rain boots and parka and fight the storm head on. Because if I can’t show up for myself, who else is going to? It starts and ends with you.
I’m going to end with a quote from Charles B Newcomb that says “We cannot build until we have laid foundation stones. We add to our foundations every time we meet our difficulties well. However insignificant they may be.”
“We cannot build until we have laid foundation stones. We add to our foundations every time we meet our difficulties well. However insignificant they may be.”
Charles B Newcomb
Let’s keep that quote in mind as we continue to lay foundation stones and meet challenges and obstacles head on, with grace.
Written by Alyson Markos