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Letting Go


Oftentimes I find myself taking on too much and becoming overwhelmed and stressed. I can tell you with great certainty that in my mind everything that I take on is for the good or betterment of something or someone. What this looks like for me is that I do not always see how saying "yes" will impact my life physically, mentally, and emotionally. Which lets face it, is a recipe for stress and overwhelm. This too trickles down into my personal and professional life impacting my family and my work with clients.

Stress and overwhelm also enters my life when my expectations do not match what is real and true. This is a HUGE area of needed growth for me. To paint a clear picture for my readers; this is me coming home from work to find a kitchen in disarray, dishes in the sink and on the counter and a dishwasher that needs to be unloaded. And in my mind these things should have already been done by the time I got home; come on family, why was this simple task not completed for "me" so that I can come home and be a pleasant mom and wife, not a monster! Now I would like to rewind the tape and envision I, "the pleasant mom and wife" come home to find the kitchen in disarray but instead of unleashing the monster in me, I can look at the situation from a different perspective, one of empathy and understanding. I wonder how that could not only change my own stress and overwhelm but the emotional stress I leave my family with when the monster is let out of the box.

Lastly, the other area of stress and overwhelm for me is things left unfinished, more so, when things are not completed in MY timeframe. My wonderful husband of 24 years will most certainly attest to this and to let you in on a little secret; we have had arguments over the years regarding this exact topic, more times than I can count. I should admit I am a little stubborn, one such time I wanted him to remove a cabinet in our kitchen and it seemed that this was not getting accomplished in my timeframe so I took a crowbar to it and removed it myself.

To bring all of this back full circle, my title for this post is "Letting Go." You might ask "why" and I am so glad you asked. I feel like "letting go" is making an intentional effort everyday to take a step back and see the picture/situation through a different lens; one of empathy and understanding and by doing so my stress and overwhelm will become a little less.

With love- Holly

 “Stress is not what happens to us. It’s our response TO what happens. And RESPONSE is something we can choose.” - Maureen Killoran




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