It's springtime in Michigan and sweet Mags and I have been soaking up the warm Michigan weather this week with lots of walks and chill time on the back patio.
We hope you're enjoying some outdoor time as well!
As we've turned a corner from winter to spring, I've listened to various friends and clients describe their upcoming school and sports schedules and their general family life as busy.
Underneath it, I see moms bracing for the busy >> I have no choice but to do this and this is just the way it is.
This came up with a client this week.
She is running on virtually zero margin.
Every moment of her day is spoken for.
And she's exhausted, overwhelmed, not sleeping enough, and impatient with her kids.
And everything she's doing to counteract feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, and impatient is from a belief that she needs to "fix the problem."
So she keeps doing more.
Which makes her more exhausted.
And more overwhelmed.
And more impatient.
What if this isn't about fixing a problem? What if there isn't even a problem?
What if we can look at exhaustion and overwhelm and impatience not as problems... but as messengers.
Messengers provide valuable information that we can use to understand ourselves better.
So I asked her...
If exhaustion had a message for you, what would it be?
If overwhelm had a message for you, what would it tell you?
If impatience had valuable information for you, what is it?
The answers to those questions aren't intended to lead to judgement or blame or guilt.
The answers are intended to evoke curiosity.
What does this feeling want you to know?
If you find yourself in this space too...
How are you feeling?
And answer the question:
If my feeling of ________ (anger, resentment, impatience, burnout, busy, overwhelm, stress) has a message for me, what would it be?
Be open. Be curious. What message does it have for you?
