Every now and then we fall apart. One day, without notice, life and everything that comes with it, is just more than we can take. You’ve had that kind of day, one where you don’t want to get out of bed, or you get out but then you go right back to bed, you call out of work, you skip class or school altogether, or you go but you aren’t actually present.
Bad days are allowed, but some of them are also avoidable.
See, WE’VE designed these lives. We don’t live under the rules or restrictions that those generations before us did, and while things aren’t perfect, we have far more choice and freedom than they ever did. So our lives today are a reflection of our choices, priorities, and desires. We put standards in place and pressures on ourselves and then we get overwhelmed with trying to maintain them all.
Unless you’re Ke$ha, or the 1-5% of the population who have strict contracts with record labels or studios requiring you to produce, and to do so by a certain time, you don’t owe anyone anything. I mean yes, you have responsibilities and commitments, but those aren’t usually what lead to the stresses that lead to bad days. Those are the priorities, the things we must do, it’s all the extras, it’s when we add all the little tasks, activities, and self-imposed demands around them that we feel stretched thin. If the life you’ve created for yourself is the one in which you now feel overwhelmed keeping up with, I have great news. You can change it.
You can make changes to your life or you can continue to be worn down & worn out.
If you give the world only your highlights, paint on a smile and nod, if you stretch yourself thin trying to be everything to everyone or to live up to the expectations of others, don’t be surprised when you burn out. And don’t be surprised when people don’t call, ask, or care when you need them during the lowlights or ‘bad’ days. Don’t be shocked that they continue to pile things onto your plate and don’t be offended if they don’t seem to appreciate all you do. If you teach people how to treat you, then that’s your fault.
If your goal is to let people know that you, like them, are human, that you too have bad days, and that every now and then you get overwhelmed, then you’ve gotta decide on a different life for yourself and you gotta show them, balance. Offer all the highlights, the fun, honest, and true, and every so often, show them the truth and reality of the down times and tough days.
“Tough times don’t last, tough people do. ” –Robert Schuller