Knowing When to Take A Mental Break

F.O.M.O
(Fear of missing out) is a real thing.

There is nothing like regretting your decision to participate in something that you didn’t think was worth it, only to find out that everyone and their cousin’s-mama’s-uncle’s-daughter’s-niece was there AND it was the time of their lives. Or maybe you are stressing about accomplishing a career goal and see everyone else around you making it happen, seemingly overnight.

This is why F.O.M.O. exists. Because just about no one wants to be that person.

Here is the gag. There is going to come a time when your body will tell your mind that it can’t take anymore. You are going to have to say no to something in order to save yourself from burning out. (I will be writing a post about this sooner than later) Before you get to the burnout phase, you have to make a decision before it’s too late, to take care of you. It’s easier said than done and many of us will compromise our health and wellness for a temporary thrill or to save face.

This is something that I admit to still struggle with. It used to be so hard for me to admit that I wasn’t immortal or a superhero and I needed to hit the pause button on my life. When I finally began to make it a habit to accept what I knew couldn’t be done at that moment, it was like a breath of fresh air. Sometimes you have to just accept the fact that it is time for a mental break. Some of the best mental breaks involve giving up the following: social media (who knew life would go on beyond your Newsfeed), people (I promise they will be there next week and if not, bye Felicia), going out (there will be a party next week with the same people there), making plans (just stop), meeting “deadlines” (my job requires this but outside of that, this thing called life allows us to create our own rules), etc.

It isn’t about making these decisions permanent, it is more about taking a temporary break to restore one’s mind, body and soul to so that it can be ready to say yes again.

Life is short and I am all for seizing every moment to do something amazing and impactful. But sometimes, it is time to hit the pause button to stop and smell the roses and realize that you aren’t a machine. Dream Big and Do it Big but don’t forget that taking a break is something that every accomplished, wise person has allowed themselves to do.

-Lyric