Give Yourself a Break

by Heather Ford-Helgeson

Well, I bit off more than I could chew this spring and summer. I had this grand plan to revamp my yard into a landscaped paradise along with raised vegetable gardens that would feed my family well into the winter (because I was also going to make myself a small root cellar of sorts).  Instead, I accomplished about 1/3 of what I wanted to do.  But, so what. Really. What did I expect? I have a toddler, my first one, and I am, like everyone else I know, packed to the gills with to-do lists, responsibilities and projects. Ultimately, I should be proud I got done the little bit I did and, ultimately, I need to give myself a break...and chances are, many of you out there need to do the same thing.

I am re-writing my to-do list, re-evaluating my responsibilities and I may chuck the projects until next year.  The most important thing to do is to enjoy my family and my life in general and if there are some things on my to-do list that I enjoy, I will do them.  If there are important things that really must get done, I will do them. If they are not truly necessary, they're going in the LATER DUDE, column.

The fact is, a lot of us think that once we get A, B, and C done, or once we have more money, or what have you, then and only then will we be happy. But chances are, once we get our to-dos done, there will be more to-dos and if we make more money, we'll have greater expenses eating that dough up. Therefore, if we put off happiness until our untils are met, what we're really doing is putting off happiness to a time that may never come.

Destinations are great, meeting a goal is fantastic, but if we're not happy in the process, what is the point? Being realistic about the expectations we put on ourselves, then, has everything to do with our self satisfaction. So, let's be honest when we make our lists of to-dos about what is realistic to accomplish. And, let's get help when we need to.  It's not so important that we do everything ourselves. If you can, hire someone to get some of those must-dos done and also look to friends, family, kids, whomever, to help as well. Anything that can wait, can wait. It's that simple.

I promise to lighten up and enjoy my life more.  I hope you do the same.

Have a lovely rest of September and take care of you and yours, and have fun!