Are you OK?

that was my subject line in my email to my friend.

Thing is, how often do we check in with one another, let alone with ourselves?  We’re all so busy going here and there; attending that event, dashing off to another, that we can forget to ask or not notice that a friend seems a bit distracted or down.   We’re on auto-pilot.

But somehow the stress and sense of overwhelm can seep through to our everyday lives, and we can find ourselves on a fast track to being burned out.  Been there, done that, still have the T shirt.  In fact, truth be, I likely should be wearing it right now.  It’s been a hectic fall.

Part of it I think is we take on too much, and then when we realize that we have, we don’t want to let anyone down, so we honour our commitments.  However, there can be an expensive price tag to be paid if we continue despite the warning signs.  Or perhaps we have some difficult decisions and choices to make, as we take our lives in a different direction.  Contrary to the media, I don’t think we can have it all.

I know when I am over-stretched.  I get a tad tetchy, a little impatient and start to take stuff too personally.  

With the holiday season fast approaching, the pressure is on.  Not only do we have to get our usual stuff done, but we have to fit in all the gift buying, wrapping and delivering.  I don’t know who does what in your household, but the buck stops here.  I do the “Santa” bit in our family.

I can just hear you… she needs to chill.  I know but my point is that don’t think I am alone.  In fact, I know I am not.   As women we tend to take it all on and there comes a breaking point, when enough is enough, or we get sick.

So check in with your friends.  Check in with yourself.   How are you doing?  What can you do to slow down?  Is there something you can delegate, forget and leave out this year?  Does everything have to be perfect or can you let some things drop?

Perhaps your business has evolved and become something beyond what you thought.  Is this what you want, and if it isn’t, how can you change it so it fits with where you are at right now?

At the end of the day, it is all about choices.  And often we have more choices than we think.  We don’t have to feel boxed in.  We can choose to opt out rather than opt in.  

So for December, I am taking my chill pill.  I am slowing down the pace and maybe then I will enjoy it all more.  What about you?  Are you OK?