Give yourself a break

Yesterday I was reminded of how intensely I observe children. Getting through meals with preparation , serving and eating, constantly anticipating what's going to go wrong and be a safety or care issue, thinking up new and interesting ways to be in relationship, listening as they try to get their thoughts out then lose track or grow self conscious, all take enormous amounts of concentration and being 'on' no matter what the age. From infancy to young adulthood we focus so much on our kids we literally lose ourselves.

So today I give you the tip of the century. Think of yourself as an air traffic controller. Your responsibilities are the same, the pressures are the same, the skill set is the same. They take a break every fifteen minutes! Do you?  Do it. Every fifteen minutes, absent yourself from the game for just a minute or two. Things will be fine. You will be fresher, and more attentive and less resentful of the demands.

Whistle a happy tune, think about a hobby, attend to something that needs to be put on 'the to do list'. Obviously stay physically present, but just check out for a minute. Yes, make sure all is well before you take your mini break. And no more than sixty seconds or so...but change your focus. Watch a butterfly out the window, change the radio channel, something that freshens you a bit.

You will be able to hang in there for the long haul much more easily. More small breaks makes you feel less desperate to disengage. Try it... You'll see it works.
Love,
Deborah