Today’s big idea is that hard times feel even harder when you hold yourself to a standard that made sense when things were basically normal. Challenging times mean you have to let things slide. Get back to basics. And just doing your best.
Reminding yourself of this fact will help take unnecessary pressure off yourself. Literally telling yourself, “I’m doing my best,” goes a long, long way toward cutting yourself some slack.
Listen To The Podcast Here
Be Easy On Yourself
During this pandemic, I’ve had to ask for deadline extensions on every one of my ghostwriting projects. I HATE that. It’s not who I consider myself to be. But there’s just no two ways about it–things take longer, both because kids are home, my attention is fractured, stakes are high, and it’s harder to think.
Also, our house is way messier than it used to be. And I’m wearing sweats all the time. I never used to do that. Even though I’ve been working from home for 15 years, I always got dressed in real clothes.
But you know what? There’s not time or mental bandwidth to do the things that matter–which for me includes being there for my family, still turning in quality work (even though it’s taking longer), being as active as I can in the election and the post-election fallout, and taking care of myself with exercise, healthy food, and what friend time I can manage–and do all that other stuff. I’m doing my best, and that’s good enough. And so are you.
You Are Doing Your Best
Remember, the gift of hard times is that they’re a call to shed some of the programming we all have about the ways things should be. But your ego is going to expect you to keep on as you always have. So you’re going to have to remind yourself, again and again, that you’re doing your best.
It’s one thing to say cut yourself some slack but another to understand how to actually do that. Reminding yourself that you’re doing your best is how you do it.
Daily Tiny Assignment
Your tiny assignment is brought to you by Therapist Preferred, makes of premium organic CBD products, and it this: any time that inner voice chimes in, and tell you that you’re slacking or falling down on the job or letting things go to seed, remind yourself, I’m doing my best. I’m doing my best. I’m doing my best.
Write it on a sticky note, or on your hand, or make it the home-screen of your phone. Because you will forget. And you will try to beat yourself up for not being farther along, or still being upset, or not doing things you used to do. And that’s when you remind yourself, I’m doing my best. It’s praise and a reminder in the same breath. You’ve got this.
Stay Awhile!
Next week, I’m doing a deep dive into patience. Something we always need, but even more so now that we’re headed into what is likely to be a long, Covid-y winter.
