I have projects that I should be finishing. I have calls and emails I should be returning. I have several large deadlines approaching. I see the large group of sharks starting to circle me. I should be swimming to the shore as fast as I can.
It’s not just work.
I have chores at home building on my list. I should be helping clean our kitchen or preparing our deck and the outside of our house for the coming winter. If I don’t bring in our deck furniture soon, I’m going to be sitting on the outside sofa with three feet of snow. There’s more. I should be heading to the grocery store to pick up food for the week. I need to take my car in for service. I need to set up a bunch of dentist and doctor appointments. My list of “shoulds” and “musts” is longer than the day is long.
I should. I should. I should.
I’m a workaholic and perfectionist, but I have learned one thing from the pandemic: We have to take care of ourselves. And tonight, I’m letting it all ride. I’m taking care of myself. Oh, I’ll get back to work soon enough. And I have an open weekend coming up in another week or so where I plan to do nothing, but catch up on those hodge-dodge of chores that I’ve been putting off.
Right now, though, I’m taking time to get my head on straight. I’m letting go of the should haves. I’m not worrying about the work or the chores. They’ll get done when they get done. Oh, it doesn’t come easy for me. I fight the temptation to be tackling my various to-do lists, by reminding myself that I’m right where I need to be.
Taking care of our mind and our body is one of our most important jobs:
- “Taking care of yourself is the most powerful way to begin to take care of others.” –Bryant McGill
- “Self-care is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation.”–Audre Lorde
- “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” –John F. Kennedy
Writing from the Heart with Brian 
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