I woke up dragging.
As I took my first steps of the day, I ran through the list in my head….I have to make the bread and the granola bars and the pie, then I need to walk the dog, run to the market and once people wake up, make a nice brunch for all.
As this litany was circling in my brain, I stopped and checked in with my body.
My muscles were tense and I had an overall “just got to get through this” attitude. You know–grit, grin and bear it.
Once I took stock of things it was good to note that this was unusual, I hadn’t had the feeling in a while. It used to be my m.o., but not anymore.
So, why now?
It was Fathers Day and in addition to the nice things I wanted to do to make the day special for my husband, I had also left some other cooking duties until the last minute, adding to the list of what needed to get done that morning.
But as I assessed the situation I quickly realized some important truths-
1. I had chosen everything on my to do list.
2. I like to cook.
3. I want my husband to enjoy Fathers Day.
4. It is important to me that my daughter has foods to eat that avoid her allergies.
5. I cherish putting meals on the table that my family likes to eat.
So why had I woken up so put out?
It was an old pattern that I was replaying, but once I realized it, I knew that I could change my attitude.
I did some quick stretching to wake myself up. I put our Sonos system onto 70’s Funk radio and spent the next two and half hours literally bopping, dancing and singing around my kitchen while I baked one thing after another. It was FUN.
When my family started straggling in, they were met with a happy and upbeat mom. My peppiness even got me some sideways glances from my sleepy kids. Mom is so weird…
If I hadn’t gone for the attitude adjustment, they would have been greeted with a mom who was pretending to be lively, but who was actually grumpy and resentful.
There would have been comments like “you have no idea everything I have done this morning” or “must be nice to be able to sleep in, some of us have work to do” or other passive aggressive statements.
As it was, I was genuinely happy to see them, felt great and was thrilled to be able to enjoy Father’s Day activities as a family. I wasn’t tired, my back didn’t hurt and I was ready for what the rest of the day would bring.
There are people who might read this and think, “what’s the big deal?” It’s a big deal because all these little things add up to the wholeness of our lives. If we don’t stop and check in with how we feel, we can end up being much more negative and put out than we realize.
Beware of the autopilot in your life. If I hadn’t stopped to assess my foul mood and tense body as I woke up on Sunday, the day would have progressed much differently.
Are you gritting, grinning and bearing things too much?
If you want some help figuring out how to stop, hit contact in the upper right hand corner of this page so we can come up with a plan that will have you bopping through your day.
Hugs,
Lorna
In order to change your life, you must first change your mind.
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