Hey sisters,
Welcome to the first post of my new blog, ‘The Weekend Reset’ in which at the end of each week we will explore various ways to wind down, de-stress and rejuvenate ourselves (recharge and reset), so we can keep on living our best lives.
You’ve had a full week. You have worked hard and accomplished much…..or maybe not as much as you would like. TGIF, the weekend is almost here. YIPPEEEEE!!! It’s time to wind down and recharge. Will you? For many of us our weekends are just as busy and packed, if not more, than the ‘work’ week.
Some time ago I was driving along the causeway leg of Highway 2000 heading from Portmore to Kingston, here in Jamaica, when just as I drove onto the overhead bridge leading to Marcus Garvey Drive, on the upward incline, my vehicle came to a complete stop. It would go no further. No matter how much I turned the key in the ignition or pumped the gas pedal, it would not budge. Even though it is still embarrassing to say it, I will for your sake – my vehicle had run out of fuel.
Yep. At first, more than anything else, I was completely and utterly embarrassed. Soon afterward, however, I became very anxious because I was in a very precarious spot. Vehicles with angry drivers waving at me to get off the bridge, whizzed past me, causing my vehicle to shake with each passing. The sun was relentless, and with no fuel, there was no air-conditioning. So I was embarrassed, scared, and sweating profusely from both the shame, and the heat of the sun. At long last, the highway rescue team surrounded my vehicle with those orange rubber cones to protect both me and the other oncoming motorists, until eventually gas was bought and taken to me.
We women are naturally nurturers. We transfer our maternal nature to every sphere of our lives – home, work, community. So we are always doing, doing, doing. What many of us are not so good at is taking care of ourselves. We tend to find it easier to give than to receive. We are therefore prone to pouring ourselves out until we are depleted. Just like driving our vehicles until the fuel runs out, right?
Nothing is wrong with taking care of others and our responsibilities, but just as we must refuel our vehicles (something we would think is simple and easy to do), we need to refuel ourselves (again, seemingly obvious but often not done).
When we don’t take care of ourselves and become depleted we are stressed out, full of anxiety and exhausted all the time. Left unchecked, we eventually ‘burn-out’. We also become prime candidates for a range of health conditions - from hypertension, depression, and diabetes all the way to more life-threatening ones such as stroke, heart failure, even cancer. At best we are miserable and irritable and the very people we are sacrificing our lives for want to avoid us, because we are no fun to be around. At worst we suffer from painful or crippling and debilitating illness.
I started feeling the vehicle slowing down some distance before I reached the overhead bridge, but the highway is one-way so at that point I had no choice but to continue and pray that I would make it to the other side of the bridge. It was too late then. If we pay attention, we can see the signs of undue stress and overwork long before the tank empties. When we ignore the signs and continue going without checking the level of the gas in our tank and replenishing it, before we know it, we are driving with an empty fuel tank…...and we come to a complete stop!
So as the weekend approaches and we look forward to recharging, will you check and refuel your tank? Check your fuel gauge. When was the last time you had a medical check up? Make an appointment now. In fact, the month of October is dedicated to breast cancer awareness. Have you had a mammogram within the last year? If not, take some time this weekend to read up on breast cancer then make an appointment to have your breasts examined. Early detection of cancer, or any other life-threatening health condition, could save your life, so check and refuel BEFORE you come to a complete stop.
Reset tip of the Week - Call A friend: Talking to a friend can be therapeutic, even if you don’t talk about what’s stressing you out. A good conversation can clear the mind and create a good vybz to start your weekend.
Thanks for reading The Weekend Reset. I would love to hear how you refill your tank and reset each week, so please share in the comments. If you enjoyed ‘‘The Weekend Reset’ blog, go ahead and share it with a friend. If you are not subscribed, you can subscribe below
Sharon Carruthers, the author of the ‘Weekend Reset’ blog is a child of God, wife, mother of 3, a Human Resource Management and Development Consultant, and owner of the firm, ‘Bold Consulting’. She is sharing from her own experiences for women who are holding back, or living on autopilot; who believe their identities are in others and, or in what they do; or who neglect themselves while sacrificially taking care of others. She hopes that together Christian women can embrace the future with the beautiful hope of transformation one step at a time.
