Back in the day I used to take pride in “burning the candle at both ends” as they say. Now I’m diligent about knowing my limits and prioritizing my well-being. It doesn’t mean I don’t feel a little guilty if I’m not able to accomplish everything on my to-do list. What it means is that during this current stage of my life, so-called “hustling” is just not a priority to me anymore.
Self-care is what takes precedence over everything else and a major part of my routine, especially this past year. Whether it’s something simple like making myself breakfast, getting at least 7 hours of sleep, or doing some type of exercise, I deliberately set time aside no matter what. As a result, I automatically feel better about life in general and accomplish tasks even more efficiently, among other things.
Of course that’s not always possible. Deadlines are deadlines when it comes to work and school. We all have bills to pay and some of us have side aspirations that are equally as important to us. However, when given the choice to make yourself sick agonizing over some lofty goal that can wait till tomorrow, next week, or even the following month versus taking adequate care of yourself, I hope you choose the latter one.
My self-worth is no longer defined by my ability to “sleep when I’m dead” and I refuse to carry the weight of needing to accomplish all the things, all the while rapidly deteriorating. I don’t know about y’all, but I’m tryna live.
Love from, Janelle Ryan 😘