Today’s Morning Buzz is brought to you by Chaquinta Fisher, I.T. Support Manager for McLennan County, TX. Connect with Chaquinta on LinkedIn.
- What I’m reading: The Book of Leviticus – The Bible
- What I’m listening to: The Basement with Tim Ross podcast
- What I’m watching: “The Equalizer”
I recently had a 16-hour work day, five hours of sleep following, and resumed work the next day.
Coming home the next day, the mere sound of the kitchen sink dripping literally irritated me to the point of wanting to yank the whole faucet off and chunk it across the room, but I remained silent and to myself.
I carried on as usual with my coworkers, family, and friends. I smiled, I helped, I encouraged. I was present in the way that everyone generally expects from me.
No one knew that I also cried in my car after I parked in the driveway. I felt hopeless, useless, and started questioning my own talent and abilities.
That night, I slept. I slept so deep that, the next morning, I arose two hours later than usual. Being a Saturday, this was unusual, but necessary. I noticed as I went through my usual morning routine that I was filled with energy, happy, and excited for the day.
There was still the looming thought of the work issue, but in that moment, I knew, there was nothing more I could do at this time and to just focus on the day.
Then, it hit me! The hopeless, useless, questioning feeling I had the other day was only FEAR that crept in because I had not rested. Our thoughts will lead us astray when we are not rested, especially when we do not make it an intentional rest.
Have you ever been in a place like this in your life, at work, home or with the kids where everything and everyone around you literally irritated or upset you?
Did you do a self-check to see if you ate? Were you sleepy? Were you emotional about other events?
If so, now is the time to begin creating intentional points to eat, break, and rest.
I personally feel without these things, we force ourselves into overdrive and not operating in a healthy manner, be it mentally, physically, spiritually, or emotionally.
We must remember to REST: Relax. Evaluate. Set an intention. Take action.
When we relax, we let go. When we let go, we can come back to evaluate, set an intention on next steps, and take action where and if needed.
That action will be more productive and healthier vs. moving forward without rest and rejuvenation.
If you do nothing else today, take time to rest. Put the phone down. Turn the ringer off. Disconnect and breathe.
Your mind, heart, body, and soul will thank you and everyone around you will receive a better version of yourself.