The Writing and Photography Blog of Kevin J Sabo

To say that the last week has been busy is a drastic understatement.

After the last week, I am beat. Between meetings, writing, more meetings, theatre practise, and the general day to day of life I am wiped out. That’s why today I slept in. I played PS4. I did some writing to catch up on some back log. I even took Sirius for a walk.

I took a time out. I destressed. I took some time to look after me.

A year ago, if I were to have pushed myself as hard as I did this last week. I would have broken. I would have crashed hard. What a difference a year makes.

What changed?

Attitude. Resiliency. Drive. Self-care.

Self-care is huge and something a lot of people tend to ignore. I pushed myself to the limit, but I also took care of myself. I knew today and tomorrow were going to be “off” days. I maintained my diet and kept eating regularly. I kept up my sleep routine as best I could. I got a walk in where I could.

Were the hours in the last week maintainable indefinitely? Not a chance in hell.

Were they something I want to repeat any time soon? Also a giant hell no.

I did what I needed to do. I also took care of myself the best I could under the circumstances. The circumstances weren’t ideal, the fact that I’m still here writing this tells me how much progress I’ve made in the last year.

The biggest down side of all in the last week is that Lynn and I have spent very little time together. It’s kind of sad, but with everything we both have going on we actually had to book in Friday night as a Netflix & chill date night.

Life throws curve balls all the time. Cancer. Heart attack. Mental illness. In life we can’t control the things that happen, but we can control how we respond. It’s been a long and painful process, but I’m slowly getting it.

The crap in my head is still there, but I am managing it. It’s not managing me. Finding time for the self care is critical and something I can’t emphasize enough. It’s not being selfish. It’s knowing that you can’t give anything to anyone else if you are running on empty yourself.

No matter how stressed out you get, make yourself a priority. Everything in your life will thank you for it.

Kevin