*Stands up*
Umm, hi everyone. My name is Ronnika and the flames of my
life have me burnt out.
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| Photo Credit: http://www.hypable.com/issa-rae-insecure-hbo-trailer/ |
As
lovely as America is, the societal climate (insert sarcasm) as a whole has us
all in an uproar to BE the best with lesser consideration as to how “me, myself, personally” will get there. The
majority of us scurry along the rat race,
clicking deadlines, talleying to-do tasks, going to school, getting jobs, and
end up in a never ending Q&A of “Is
it Friday,” and “I’ve got the Monday
Blues.”
Honestly,
after 12 years in a public school system, running from standardized testing,
then spending 4+ years chasing a Master’s degree…only to greet standardized
testing once again, I’m tired of it all. Don’t get me wrong, I desire a degree
for sure, but my focus on the chase is quite worrisome.
How
did I get to this point??
You
may be wondering to yourself… “Well, didn’t she do anything other than
school?!” The answer is…kinda. *Clears throat* In a previous post I
revealed that in my younger years I was the band geek.
Nowadays,
I’m an avid volunteer, student, budding professional, and young adult.
I
am also human.
So
maybe I was a workaholic who didn't necessarily have the best coping habits and
didn't find out until it was too late. lol But don't we all? Long story
short, I got a wake up call after my Master’s level advisor sat me
down and said "ummm, you need an outlet because you haven't been
performing at the level I know you can."
Too often we unconsciously allow ourselves
to become wrapped up in the chase so much so that we let everything else in our
lives go up in flames instead of basking in those cute little quirky details
that make us who we are.
The
Chase = the things we call hustle (assignments, meetings, late nights, early
mornings, coffee jitters, etc.)
I
forgot to allow myself to breathe. I forgot to develop me in the process. I forgot to value myself rather than my
work.
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| https://www.pinterest.com/pin/463730092852285225/ |
So
no, the flames in the hot room aren’t hot at all. What’s hot are the things
that happen leading up to the flame beginning in the first place. What’s hot
are the expectations that you have for yourself. What’s hot are the
expectations that you DON’T have for yourself. What’s hot are your coping
mechanisms, or lack there of.
Go
on and hustle. Be the boss. Build your empire. But the best professionals stay
afloat by making time for themselves. Just think about it like this, once the
flames going, you burn. Let’s try not to get to that point.
Things
that I do to combat burn out:
Manditory R&R. Right after a stressful
day, I make it my duty to clear my mind before I go home with what I call #DDR.
No need to take bad energy into my castle! I “Debrief” by catching up with a friend or loved one. We either talk
about the day or random topics that are of interest to the both of us. I “De-stress” by taking walks in tranquile
places. The pet shop is one of my favorites – Yes, I take a stroll through
PetSmart and casually admire guppies and turtles for fun. You should try it!
Tell me how it goes. Lastly, I “Relax”
by taking a nice hot shower and reading a book – currently I’m juggling between
The New Jim Crow, 50 Psychology Theories, my devotional, and the
Bible. Introspection. When I have stressful days, I take some time to really think through my feelings as to why the day was stressful. Was I being challenged in an area that I was not well versed? “Who” made things stressful? Sometimes our stress comes from internal forces instead of our external environment. Explore.
Get up and try again. One thing that I have to tell myself daily is that tomorrow is another chance to get things right. We build our stamina when we go through things on the regular. And honestly, if I didn’t have the struggle I wouldn’t be happy.
Be
Beautiful.
Nika
Encouraging
orgs that I swear by…
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