Stress management lesson for the day: Know your limits.
TLDR; If you’re feeling close to your limit maybe avoid the Sprint store and do your favorite mindfulness thing whether that’s running, or resting, or having a cold beer in the sun with a good friend.
Today I was reminded of a hard lesson: know your limits. In the last 30 days, I have lost my grandmother and my beloved pet friend. TRILUNA is entering our busy season. I have two side projects actively in the works. The house is a disaster. It’s a lot. Right now my stress cup is pretty full. I know this. I can feel it in my body like a lump in my throat. But today I ignored it and I went to run an errand that I should have known would put me over the edge.
Our fellow stress management teacher Rosa Castano reposted an image from artist Maiseie’s Ghost “burnout can look like” where 6 signs are listed: 1) little to no motivation 2) insomnia 3) emotional overwhelm 4) amplified anxiety 5) exhaustion 6) easily triggered. Burnout is caused by chronic stress, unchecked stress, and or intense periods of stress. Grief, stress, and even excitement about projects/future have me caught in a really intense emotional period.
When I’m in these really intense spaces it doesn’t take much to trigger overwhelm in me. In scenarios like these, I try to stay ahead of the little things that can build up and push me over the edge. I clean the house, I make food for the week, I make lists, but I should have known that a fourth trip to get my phone fixed would be too much for me today. But I didn’t listen to the signs and when things went wrong again I was short with the person helping me (not a good look) and abandoned the project. In the car I felt the dam break. The most comfortable emotion for me is and always has been anger and so that’s where I went. I got home, slammed some doors, threw on my running shoes, and cried my way through the neighborhood.
When I started running again last month I had no idea that it would see me through so much loss–but it has truly been a gift. Having a movement practice that I genuinely love that isn’t in service of weight loss has been life-changing. Nike’s Coach Bennett feels like my best friend in the world right now (IFKYK). As teachers people often suggest that we should have figured out the secret sauce to a stress-free life. Two things: 1) BORING 2) ridiculous. We all have stress, experience loss, have too much on our plate.
The work we do is about identifying the right mix for your secret sauce—awareness that helps you identify patterns that keep you stuck in the cycle, tools for managing the inevitable, and strategies for getting ahead of it next time. My secret sauce is knowing my limits, not ignoring them once I do, and running when I need to manage the physical stress response in my body. Knowing your limits isn’t about not pushing yourself to be better, it’s about recognizing where to push and when to rest.