Take a break :-)

“Taking a break is good for the soul, good for the mind, and good for the body.”

I’m sure I have read or heard that somewhere…maybe I have been told by someone else or even told myself about a particular topic. Maybe I just made it up right now. When my kids get frustrated with a task, I tell them, “Take a break…do something else for a little while and get back to it…re-group.” It works for them and I feel like a smart mom.

What about taking several breaks from different things at the same time to see what was or wasn’t working for that soul, mind and body? I did just that a month ago...stopped doing things that I thought made me who I am.

This very act is getting me back to doing one of the things I was breaking from…writing. I am a chronic journaling champ. Good days, bad days, laughing moments, crying moments where my inked words are smeared with tears, angry words and fabulous moments….all written down. It always feels better for me to write things down…more so the upsetting stuff…rather than say it out-loud and I am not capable of holding them in, as much as I wish I could…I don’t feel that is healthy…I just write it out and move on – not hurting anyone in the process. The good days were getting fewer and far between in the last six months….so I stopped writing at all…just to see what I felt. I found I can let things go easier than I thought I could…I don’t have to run to my journal to be upset with my husband or frustrated that i can’t seem to get a good school night routine down (I am SO ready for summer!).

Taking a break from making lists is something else….i am a list freak, because it feels great to mark something off to see an accomplishment….no, I don’t need to write down that I need to pick up my 9 year old from afterschool care on my way to HEB…but when I do write it, I get to cross it off…because it shows I did something. So when I make lists and I don’t cross something off, I feel not so fantastic….and holy crap when I find a list from two years ago (yeah – that’s a whole other topic that I even HAVE that list two years later, but whatever) but to find the same damn to-do’s for the house or whatever on the list today – ugh! So I stopped making lists. Even the simple ones…now, I get my youngest and we go to HEB…that grocery list still happens…I’m 44 and my memory sucks – and the list is in the order of the storeJ. I don’t miss my lists near as much as I thought I would…I look at the laundry – it will always be there and I will always do it…same with the rest of the house…I pick and choose my tasks for the evenings and I am sitting down with my family way more often. They dig it J I dig it J

Crossfit. Yep – I’m not an annoying freak about it, yet I would love for the world to try Crossfit at least once. I think it is amazing. It’s been my physical outlet next to running for the last five years. I have to go at 5:15am due to my work schedule and location. For five years, I’ve been up and doing a workout that early. Soooo many times, people say, “you’re crazy for getting up so early to work out” and I used to be proud to say “yep!” Welllllll....lately, I’m just damn tired at 4:45am…so I started to miss….and I started to resent my job that I already don’t like, because I couldn’t change my workout routine. I do not look like the Crossfitters you see on ESPN…nope...i enjoy my beer and my food and I’m not wanting to compete in the Crossfit Games…not yet. I told myself it’s time for a break; put my membership on a 3 month hold, so I can miss it…so I can love Crossfit again.

I want to write a book one day.

I want to find a crossed-off list - NOT a repeat list

I want to be a Crossfit coach when I retire in four years

 

I just did an essential journal entry, made a list, and my Crossfit membership starts back up in December…I didn’t quit…I took what I thought was an obligation away for just a little bit so I could remember to enjoy these things rather than let them define me…I’m regrouping and I am remembering I am worth following the advice I give my children.

Take a break. Re-group in your very own way J We are all worth having peace in our soul, mind, and body.

-sc