Honoring Your Capacity
There’s only so much you can do in a week, day, or hour of your time here on Earth. We are all aware that there are limits placed on our output in every area of our life, and it can be easy to get caught up in the hustle and continue working past the point of exhaustion. We each have our own capacity for working, socializing, physical activity, and completing tasks in our daily lives, and once we learn to recognize and honor those capacities, we can begin to cultivate a life of balance for ourselves. The most important part of this exercise is realizing that your capacity is unique to you, and it is subject to change and fluctuation based on the various stressors that you’re currently experiencing. After a great loss in your life, you might notice that you have a diminished capacity for social interactions for a period of time while you go inward to heal. Giving yourself that time and space allows you to honor your needs and avoid emotional burnout.
Honoring your capacity means that you give yourself downtime when you realize that you have exceeded your energy allowance for the day. Rest is not a reward for hard work, and sometimes we need to rest more on days that are less productive. The more you push yourself after you’ve reached your capacity, the more energetic debt you’re creating for your future self, and eventually this choice will catch up with you. If you look at your energy as a commodity, you can see that there’s only so much to go around. Sure, you might be able to pull from your energetic savings in order to do three more things on your to-do list before you go to bed, but that means that you’ll start tomorrow at an energetic deficit. If you continually run on a deficit for weeks, months, or years, eventually your body and spirit will require you to pay a balloon payment in order to bail yourself out of chronic burnout.
Coming out of burnout requires that you pay back all of that energy with interest in the form of deep rest and habit changes, otherwise you might be stuck in that state of energetic indebtedness forever. Burnout can manifest as chronic illness or a serious health scare from pushing yourself to the brink until your body gives out. Sometimes it looks like mental health stress that compounds until you feel there’s no escape. If you refuse to prioritize your rest and wellbeing, this extreme level of overwhelm could derail your entire life over time. You can’t expect to exploit yourself continuously with no consequences, and refusing to take care of yourself will eventually cause your downfall. The good news is that you can absolutely come back from this state, and once you make the necessary changes, you’ll be able to create a life that allows you to put yourself first in order to keep the gears of your life turning.
I’m not asking you to stop working or caring for your family by any means, but you must learn to make caring for yourself a top priority, or you won’t be around to take care of anyone or anything else. It’s not selfish to take an honest look at your capacity and output and make changes to take better care of yourself. If you can bring yourself into balance, you can truly accomplish anything you want. You must treat yourself like you matter and believe that you deserve to live a life that fulfills you in order to evolve as a person. Habitual self-sacrifice and overworking are not necessary or helpful in creating your dream life. That mindset is a scam designed to harvest your energy until your last breath to serve others who don’t have your best interest in mind. You are worthy of rest and free time to enjoy your life. Peace isn’t above your paygrade, and self-care isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. If you take care of your mind, body, and spirit, they will always take care of you. Figure out your true capacity and protect your energy by saying no when saying yes would be harmful. This will ensure that you can keep moving forward every day from a place of grounded peacefulness and balance.