This past week was a doozy. My schedule was so tight that I barely had time to use the restroom or even get lunch. I had to manufacture some times during each day just to have a couple of minutes to take some deep breaths and stand up and walk around so my smart watch would get off my case for not moving. I have a love/hate relationship with weeks like this because while I know I am getting a lot of stuff done, I don't think I take care of myself by constantly being on the go. I have to constantly remind myself, "Dude, slow your roll."
We all find ourselves in situations like this from time to time, but we rationalize to ourselves that it is part of the job and we just need to push through it because it will end at some point. The problem with this mindset is that we tricking ourselves into thinking that being busy all the time is normal and is something that is okay to endure. By normalizing this behavior, we begin to accept that it is okay to prioritize others before ourselves and that we are being servant leaders because we are taking care of the needs of others. For people who find themselves in these situations on a regular basis, I feel obligated to tell you, "Slow Your Roll."
Machines require regular maintenance to make sure that everything is in working order. They are taken offline periodically to get fixed and replace parts due to normal wear and tear. They are designed with a specific intent to do a certain task over and over again in a highly efficient way that humans are unable to do. WE ARE NOT MACHINES, so why do we tell ourselves that we need to operate in such a manner. We can't continue to operate at a pace that we are not designed for because we don't have technicians who are going to shut us down to do maintenance checks. That responsibility falls on our own shoulders, so we need to tell each other to "slow your roll."
I realize that I am not the model of taking it easy and slowing my roll. I am not practicing what I preach and I certainly put the needs of others before my own, especially the folks that I am charged to lead and who I care about. I rationalize to myself that if I serve them and do whatever it takes to help them be successful, it will pay off in the end no matter what the cost is to my own personal well-being. It is a sacrifice of the job and one that I am happily willing to make. I do, however, need to realize that maintaining this pace for too long will actually provide a disservice to others because in order to be my best, I have to shut it down at times and do some maintenance on myself. I'm getting better at it, but it is a challenge because I have normalized the behavior over a long period of time and it can't be turned on and off with a switch. What I can do, is give permission to others to turn it on and off because sometimes that is all we need. We need someone to look us in the eye and say "slow your roll." If it works even half the time, we might find ourselves making a larger impact not only on those around us that we serve, but we also might find out that we actually like ourselves a little bit more because we aren't always on the go.
#OwnYourEpic #Embrace
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