Did The Long Weekend Do It?

Did you slow down or did you speed up? You got an extra day off. But did you use the time to get more done around the house? Catch up on the overwhelming workload? Put the pressure, even if with joy, of entertaining a large crowd that then needed to be picked up for after? Or did you use some of that time for reflection? Quiet? Meditation? Time to come back to yourself?

I am aware as well that we call it a treat – an extra day off for self-care and to honor the working man and woman. Some use the time for a vacation. Fewer commitments, even more sleep. But, even there, slowing the calendar and returning to yourself are not the same accomplishment - one is arithmetic, the other is truth-telling.

I realize I can sound like a broken record. My kids said it more than once when they were growing up – even now… However, just as in those days, I am so aware that sometimes things sink in when they are said this particular way versus that or this number of times versus not. Most everything I teach is a by-product of what I have learned through personal experience or the experiences of my clients. That gives it immense credibility. It’s not theory.

We often think slowing down is self-care. But we can slow the schedule without ever addressing what depleted us in the first place. Rest can restore the body, but it cannot automatically restore a life that no longer fits. I am not for one moment saying to throw your entire life out. I will never stop doing what I love. However, knowing what that is, knowing how to do it in a way that feeds me rather than drains me or causes me to feel resentful at needing to do it are very different things.

Put simply, when the noise stops, do I actually like the life I am returning to? If so, great!!!!! If not, are there pieces I can easily change? A mindset I can adapt to that makes it all a gift rather than an albatross? Tolerating can lead to resentment, anger, rage, and self-betrayal before you realize it. It also can call us to shut down on so many levels which damages our relationships, our careers, and even our health. You continue doing everything “right”, but others feel the withdrawal, the emotional and spiritual absence, even if physically present, even if you don’t.

If you missed the opportunity last weekend, take the time now to realize that rest is where and when the noise ends. Reinvention is where the honest answer begins.

Reinvention is my greatest strength. Check out my 13 reinventions on my YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@AskDrDorothy or reach out if you are ready for that deep-dive to the next version of your best self and best life ever.