1679: Meeting yourself where you're at vs mental gymnastics
If you find yourself turning moment into an opportunity for self-flagellation, this one's for you!
Episode transcript:
Good morning, Daily Peppers, and a very happy Friday to you. So for me, as it comes to the end of the week, I am feeling knackered. And what I realize about myself and also a lot of the women I work with is that if we are people who tend to push ourselves pretty hard When we feel exhausted, rarely do we just think, okay, I'm feeling exhausted, I need to take care of myself. We immediately start going through a mental checklist of whether we are justified in how we feel. It doesn't take long until we're arguing with ourselves that actually we shouldn't feel this tired because we didn't even do XYZ, and instead of meeting ourselves where we're at and tending to where we actually are, We just get so much harder on ourselves, and we also spend so much extra precious time and energy on the mental gymnastics. Now, many self-help books will say that this is simply a mindset issue, but I think this goes so much deeper into systems of oppression, into all of the bullshit ways that we're taught we have to show up in the world, and it is not as easy as just turning it off or thinking brighter thoughts. But if we could take where we are at face value, we might be a hell of a lot kinder to ourselves. Around here, we are curious, we love to know the why, and sometimes it is about not needing to analyse every single one of our thoughts and being okay that we're tired because we're tired and letting it be as simple as that.
I know that I could spend a good hour on a list of reasons why I, quote, should be as tired as I am, and a list of reasons why I shouldn't be, and all the things I didn't get done. But it doesn't really get me anywhere, and actually, if I took that same amount of time and just slowed down and did something nice for myself, well, I think that is a much better use of time. But for so many of us, if we're not beating ourselves up, we think that we must be doing something wrong, and I want to call absolute bullshit on that. Whatever you did or didn't do this week is not a reflection of your value or your worth as a human being. Unlike near enough everything you will see around you, your value is not dependent on how productive you are. And you might just be tired because you're tired, and life is a lot. So see if you can go into this weekend giving yourself grace for where you are, rather than arguing with yourself or bargaining with yourself about how you should feel. And maybe simply ask yourself the question, what do you need right now? And listening to the answer, even if it doesn't make sense.
I hope you are kind to yourself this weekend. I hope you find some unexpected joy, and I can't wait to be back with you on Sunday if you are part of my Letters of Rebellion community. And you can find out more about that by going to therebelrousers.com/letters or clicking the link in the show notes. I'll be back here as usual bright and early on Monday morning. Take care and remember, everything changes when you believe you matter.
Transcription automatically produced by Castmagic.io
ABOUT THE DAILY PEP!
New episodes air every Monday - Friday 6AM GMT.
A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!
The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women. If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.
Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.
MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!
