As you move through your day, ticking off items on your to-do list, go easy on yourself. Do the things you need to do—go to work, pick up your children, make meals, etc.—but prioritize. Many of these items can wait a day… a week… even a year. If you don’t sweep the floor today, the dust will still be there tomorrow.

As you look in the mirror at the end of a long day, go easy on yourself. Every line, every wrinkle, every scar and bit of saggy skin, every gray hair, the eye puffiness… these tell your story. They are parts of the whole picture that is you… that is your life. There is the scar from the time you had stitches or surgery; the crooked where your broken bone healed not-quite-right.  The increasing gray hairs and wrinkles are from the love you poured into worry over a child who is struggling to find his way or an elderly parent who is navigating life alone for the first time. There is the softness of years taking over the activity and fitness of youth. This is your story reflected back from the mirror. You are your story. A story of love, of struggle, and of accomplishments big and small. Honor your struggle and your successes.

Go easy on yourself as you rewind the memories of the past. Perhaps this morning’s meeting or presentation didn’t go as well as you would’ve liked. Now, you are hyper focused on the things you said or didn’t say. You are playing the tape over and over in your mind as 20-second sound bites, each time like the strike of a whip to your soul. Or perhaps it was something you did as a kid that you regret. So many years ago that there is no doubt you are the only one who remembers. Yet it is burned in your brain as a failure. There is no use replaying the past in this way, beating yourself up over something you cannot change. Rewrite the meeting, the memory with how you should’ve handled the situation or what you will do differently next time. Play that script for a while then let it go. Focus on the best way to carry on while releasing the pain or disappointment and move forward. One step at a time. Build a better immediate future through thoughtful reflection, learn from the past, and keep going.

Go easy on yourself if you are not getting out in the world in the way you would like. If you say “no” to outings with friends when you really want to go out more, consider why. Maybe you’re more of a homebody. If you don’t jump at opportunities to push yourself, don’t fret. We all have a preference for what is comfortable. We choose to stay home and stream Netflix rather than meet up with new people or climb a mountain that might challenge our body and soul. Set a new goal—that you will do one thing each month that challenges you. Once you are comfortable with that one challenge, think about whether you want to increase the goal to twice a month. Or once a week. Pretty soon, you will have greater confidence—whether in doing new things or knowing you’re fine as you are. You will stretch your knowledge of yourself and grow in new directions.

Go easy on yourself and take your time. It does not matter what other people can do faster or better or stronger or more efficiently. What matters is what you can do. Your talents, your skill, your way of doing things—these matter. Your perspective and your opinions are part of a greater whole—they add to the big picture. Maybe someone read the book faster than you, but you came away with the one sentence or idea that will make a difference… for you, for the world, or for that one person who needs help.

Go easy on yourself. If we take our time and stay true to ourselves, we can gain from our experiences what we most need so we can offer those skills and talents to others later. Trust in the process. Know you are doing fine, and you are making a difference. Give yourself a break. Go easy and rest.

#GoEasy #Rest #Reflect