Crash

Sometimes after a weekend we feel recuperated and ready to dive into another working week. Other times, the weekend uses all our energy reserves and we feel a big “Nope!” when we even think about the coming week. This weekend just gone was the latter for me. Mum and dad just moved house and us three kids went up to help settle them settle into the new place – as well as to celebrate a couple of wonderful milestone birthdays!) There was lots of good food, fun boardgames, and a visit to the Museum Of Transportation And Technology which was very cool, but now this week I am just a bit tired.

I am thankful my mum, sister, dad, and brother put a lot of effort into the organising of the weekend so all I had do was turn up and be present. I am also thankful that in New Zealand we are allowed to travel around the country and visit friends and family. If this is not possible in your part of the world, I hope it is something that is moving closer every day.

Spending all this energy, in those good ways over the weekend, meant that today, the first day of the working week, I crashed at about ten thirty in the morning. I made sure to drink a lot of water, get up from my desk and go for a walk more often than I might usually, and engage in conversation so I stayed on top of things as well as I could. This is another time I am thankful for my positive and uplifting colleagues. Knowing the pragmatic positivity that is present at work makes it much easier to go to work on days when my energy reserves are low.

There are many things that can empty my tank more quickly than I’m prepared for. Lots of social interaction, particularly with people I don’t know. Eating the wrong type of food and then doing a lot of intensive thinking, writing, learning new songs etc. Overthinking ultimate frisbee calls and discussions that did not go as well as they could have. What is helpful, is knowing what these are, and putting plans in place to reduce the likelihood of them happening. The most useful plan of which, is to know when I just need to rest.

A comparison which is vaguely related: I love playing the drums. I particularly love improvising fills over songs I know well. When played at just the right time, a crash cymbal cuts through the song in a loud but pleasing way. If I’m playing along and hit the crash at just the right time while improvising, it is immensely satisfying. If I hit it at an inopportune moment it can be jarring and reduce my enthusiasm for playing the drums that day.

Learn from the mistakes we make, to be better prepared for making decisions in the future.

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Do you know some of the signs that you might be using up your energy reserves?

Are you prepared to ‘say yes’ to rest, even when there are ‘important things’ to do?

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There will be times when we crash. It’s the nature of being human. It doesn’t mean we’re incapable, it means we’re trying to use our incredible capability too often!

Take some time out to rest every day, dear friend.

PEACE.

Cover photo by Mohammad Jumaa from Pexels.

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