STOP feeling guilty! Take that break

“Hey, Yeah.  I’ll come and get you in a little while”, ZZzzzzzzzzzz, 3 hours later, Whoa where did that come from? Has that ever happened to you? You tell yourself, you going to just close your eyes for a few minutes and then you wake up several hours later.   Then you get this sense of guilt, like oh my goodness, what did I do today? I was supposed to wash the clothes, type my blog, read that book, and the list goes on… Here’s the thing folks you have to stop feeling guilty!

I was reminded of this on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas.  I had plans, BIG plans. I was just coming off of a brief hiatus from blogging due to a wrist sprain  (why did I think I could catch a laundry basket filled with towels, I’m not Supergirl nor am I She-Hulk but I do feel like Wonder Woman!) So I was excited to get back into writing again. I woke up early, straightened up a bit, did a bit of business planning,then made that call to my mom. It was her last day here in Anguilla before returning to the US and I wanted to spend some time with her.  Well. when the body and mind are tired, they will retaliate. My body claimed the sleep and most needed rest that I was obviously not giving it. I’ve been going at it for weeks, up early hours late nights, blogging, tweeting, planning,learning...I’m convinced that I must have been so tired that I began to think that was normal or that’s how I’m supposed to feel.

The real question is why did I feel guilt for taking the 3 hour nap.  Often times, when we are learning something new or working on our goals, we become so driven, so focused ( which is good and necessary for success) we can forget to also take care of ourselves. We also think that if we stop we will miss those learning opportunities, the business will fail, or worse we think we are failing.  

Is that truly the case though?

Here in Anguilla we have quite a few Chinese owned supermarkets and restaurants and every so often one will be closed with a sign on the door saying they will be closed for like a month. At first glance it may seem as though the business will suffer, but a month later, you’ll drive by and in the parking lot is filled with cars and customers have filled the shops once again, as if they never closed.

It’s ok to take a break, when the mind and body are rested you perform better, you think clearer.  So go ahead, take a nap, we’ll be here when you wake up.

Hi! My name is Tamara Pradel. I’m the Technology Innovation Educationist and your Personal Learning Lifestyle Coach.

Tamara N. Pradel is the Technology Innovation Educationist and your Personal Learning Lifestyle Coach. She loves to inspire and motivate others to develop a lifestyle of life long learning, to use technology in productive and meaningful ways and to bring back the fun in professional development. Who says learning has to be boring? Learn it. Play it. Own it.

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