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Dear friends,
Usually, I would encourage you to put one foot in front of the other, but not today. Today I want you to disappoint someone.
Let me explain. I often exhort you to say “no” more often, to be intentional about your time, to prioritize where you put your energy, to do the work that brings you joy and make time for leisure. I stand by all of this advice, and I try to live by it. It’s possible to do all of these things and still end up overcommitted and overwhelmed.
Despite your intentions, sometimes you have to let someone down. Maybe you committed to something that is just not feasible, and you can see that it will adversely affect you and/or your loved ones. To be clear, I am not talking about an unanticipated, emergency situation like an illness. I am talking about being so overcommitted that approaching your computer or looking at your to-do list makes your heart sink. I was taught, explicitly, and implicitly, that following through on commitments is one of the most important virtues. I wish someone had told me that it does not make sense to honor your commitments to other people at the expense of your own well-being. There have been occasions when others haven’t delivered on their commitments to me, and that disappointment and stress are real, so I don’t suggest this lightly. On the other hand, we’re in a global pandemic and I see more exhaustion and burnout than at any point before. We won’t get through this if we don’t pause when we need to.
Over the long term, please remember this hard truth: no-one has infinite time or energy. All of us will have to let go of long-held goals and aspirations because we can’t do it all. It’s easy to give up something you don’t feel passionate about (pretty sure my home will never be featured in Architectural Digest, and no-one who lives here cares, for example.) The experience of letting go of something you want very badly is much harder. I encourage you, today, to cross at least one of your professional aspirations off your list.
I really need your good news to keep me going. Drop me a note about your successes and I will amplify them. As always, please share widely (the link to sign up is at the bottom of the page here.) Be well and safe!
Warmly,
Urmimala