By Sarah Noble
Summer, The Holidays, Christmas – this time of year can be SO joyous, but also, extremely stressful and overwhelming – especially if you are juggling young kids. Maybe you are pregnant like me too!
There are some things that yes, we do need to do. However, there are so many things we DON’T need to do, yet we do for several reasons – people pleasing, not wanting to let others down or hurt their feelings, wanting to appear a certain way i.e. you always go hard decorating your house, and everyone expects it right? So, you have to do it, right?, saying yes to every social event you are invited to, buying Christmas presents for everyone, including your super nice courier person, cooking all the food – the list goes on.
Let’s be real here: all of this pressure to do all the things, be all the things for everyone, appear a certain way, try and match your high expectations and not buckle under the pressure you put yourself under… it’s all on you.
No-one is making you do anything, but you. Yes, that may sting, but it’s the truth.
You are likely your harshest critic, you are likely the one putting the most pressure on yourself, you are the one who feels she has to appear a certain way, you are the one who is putting others’ feelings before your own, you are the one who is saying yes, when you really want to say no. It’s time to take radical responsibility for the pressure you are putting on yourself and take action – no more excuses!
Take some time to evaluate and write a list of stuff that NEEDS to be done, a list that you’d like to do and a list that you don’t want to do/isn’t a real priority. Leave others feelings and reactions out of it – just focus on the need, want, don’t need/want.
