Wednesday, November 28, 2007

How far back on the back burner do you live?


Another month bites the dust as we approach the crazy holiday season. It is amazing how fast this year has zoomed by for me, and from what everyone says, for them too!


I often wonder if it is due to the super speed we push ourselves to maintain or is it that we take so very little time to relax and actually enjoy life at all? I am sure it is a little of both with a sprinkle of forgetting to slow down and smell the roses, a dash of over working and a side of doing everything for everyone else and forgetting to do for ourselves. The combination does make time go by quickly and it puts us at the front of the line for premature heart attacks, strokes and early retirement to the grave.


Most individuals will not slow down until something serious happens to them or the Doctor orders them to make a change, or one day they cannot function at that speed anymore and they instantly begin to fall apart at the seams. You would think, as we are all intelligent people here that we could just look in the mirror and realize we are changing, and in most cases not for the better, and that we have no time for ourselves and because we never say no to anyone I guess you could say it is self induced stress. Day after day and month after month leading to year after year we push ourselves so far back on the burner of life that we can actually forget our own dreams and aspirations until we start to forget who we really are. This is a common scenario and an unhealthy one too.


When you are the one person that always does everything for everyone, believe you me the word gets out quick and you become the person that never says no and will help everyone with everything. I have found this was the case for me for more years than I want to admit. It all rang true when after helping so many people move over the years that I had lost count of the friends I helped relocate. I finally had a chance to do some relocating and I called and everyone had something to do, amazing how that happens that everyone is busy at the same time? I started thinking that no matter what I had to do, I would never say no, so I said to myself, maybe I need to say no once in a while when I really cannot help out or do a favor.


The next week one of my acquaintances called and needed me to help with some stuff, obviously one of the ones that was too busy to help me, so I said sorry I am busy. Well you could have heard a pin drop, wow I thought to myself. My friend said really? I said yep, he said well I guess I will have to rent a truck. I felt very weird saying no, but I felt great because I have so much going on already I would have never got caught up if I had once again joined in.


The moral of the story is that we all have normal stress in our lives and if you are an over doer, sometimes you need to, for your health to just say no. The other thing was the world did not stop and they got over it quickly and possibly learned a lesson that I am not the end all helper anymore.


The stress of being an over doer can affect your blood pressure, your heart, cause depression and affect your health and well being. We want to always help but in the long run and at the end of the day, sometimes it just stresses us out and negatively affects our health beyond belief.


I guess I have decided that moderation is the key to a much more balanced life in every aspect of our being. Sometimes saying no when we really have to is an alright thing, and putting ourselves first for once is a Great Thing!!!!!

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