What if it felt okay to take a break?

I used to be rubbish at switching off from anything. I’d take work calls during dinner, I’d answer the phone at 3am if a friend needed me, and I’d sneakily check emails from the beach.

I felt like there was so much going on that if I took a break everything might fall apart. Everything I’d worked so hard to get under control would go to pot, and I’d be so overwhelmed by what I had to deal with on my return.

As far as I could see switching off and attempting to relax only made things a million times worse.

And then I started to get ill.

My body took over. If I wasn’t going to start taking breaks it was going to force me. The more I tried to stay in control and on top of things by overdoing it, the more I got sick and fell “behind” — it was a vicious cycle and something had to give.

I had to stop working 7 days a week. I had to put boundaries in place so I had time to switch off every day. I had to start taking my holidays seriously… no work, no emails, no social media… just a whole week of fun!!!

And I had to find a way of doing it that felt good for me.

Of course it didn’t instantly feel good. It felt awful to start with. Finding space for quiet in the crazy was so far out of my comfort zone.

It’s like when you are in the early stages of a major clear out. Your room looks a total shit tip, and you start to question why you thought it was a good idea? Will you ever see the light at the end of the tunnel? Will it actually be worth all the effort if you do make it to the other side?

But one day I realised that the really weird and uncomfortable feeling had subsided. And these days I LOVE switching off. I love the feeling of escaping from the world and having a bit of time without any demands or expectations.

Of course I still have a little bit of FOMO… something will happen in the next seven days and I’ll know nothing about it! But then again there is so much happening in the world all the time that I’m ALWAYS missing out on something even when I’m fully engaged!

So from today I am taking a break. I’m switching off. I’m spending a week in my own little world (I might let hubby and baby girl invade it too!!!) I might even try out some of that whole relaxation thing that some people rave about.

And yet this is a CRAZY time for me to take a break. Things are on a roll. I’m really excited, starting to get more engagement than I’ve ever had and things are actually happening.

So why the hell would I break the momentum?

The simple answer is because I want to.

And also because these days I know it’s better for me to break the momentum, and recharge my batteries on my terms, than to wait until the momentum breaks me!

I hope you have a wonderful week… I’ll see you on the other side!