Outside Wellness

Finding Sustainable Self Care & Taking a Break From Your To-Do List

“I need to get it all done today.”

Conditioning from all the years in public education, from familial expectations, from this inner-critic, weighs on me heavily.

These words have been conditioned in myself and so many others. We may feel like there’s so much to do, so much to have done. It’s hard to stop. To take up our rest. To feel like we deserve a break. The inner-critic calls us lazy. We’ve already been resting enough—it’s time to get to work.

But we haven’t truly stopped for even a minute.

For me, I forget to eat. I get headaches. I feel a sense of overwhelm that lasts for days or even weeks. But yet, I push through because that is all I’ve known.

Bubble baths, candles, essential oils, or other surface-level wellness practices are not going to help the roots of the issue. This may take a lot of time, energy, experimentation, and deep support from friends, family, or a specialist in mental health care. You may need to make some big changes like considering a career change, or you may just need to make some small ones like learning how to meal prep. Our needs differ, even if our sensations of stress, overwhelm, and burnout are all very similar.

If you are in desperate need of stress management, you can start today re-learning how to rest, understand what you truly need (not just what you’re told you need), and discover why it matters to you to listen to your inner-nature for cues to help you make lasting changes.

Momma Nature is one of our greatest teachers. Regarding rest, the land constantly says through the winds, “I don’t need to get it all done today. I have the time to take care of all that needs to be taken care of.”

We can say the same if we want.

Let these words sink in…

I don’t need to get it all done today.

I don’t need to get it all done today.

I don’t need to get it all done today.

When we come into our work, our relationships, and our lives from a foundation of knowing no matter what we are enough, we can do all we need to without sacrificing who we are, our energy, our wellbeing, our faith, our confidence, our love. At least not to a state of depletion that cannot be somewhat renewed with a bubble bath… if that’s your thing.

When we come from a place of not having to earn our place on this earth, we may feel more motivated, more inspired, and perhaps that we have more time in the day to do the things.

Since many of us run around like if only our to-do list was complete, then we would be happy, I encourage you to consider: If you were to check off everything on your to-do, forever, what would you do next?

Having things left to do at the end of your day is good for us. Your to-do list (or how much of it you complete) does not define your worth. Not even one bit.

SO let it be, and rest.

You don’t have to earn it.

You are already deserving.