I know how you feel. I may not know what pressure you’re under, how many unchecked boxes you have on your to-do list or the people you’re struggling to please, but I know how you feel. I know you feel anxious — anxious you aren’t going to have enough time today or tomorrow or the next day to get everything you need to get done. I know you feel nervous —nervous you are going to let someone down, and I know you feel scared — scared you aren’t going to be the idea of yourself you want to be.
Every day, you wake up wanting to be the best version of yourself that you can be, which is how you should wake up every morning. You should set goals for yourself, you should have high expectations for yourself, and you should constantly work hard. I know this is not what you want to hear or what you want to think, but you can’t do it all. Whether it’s being the perfect daughter or son, the perfect sister or brother, the perfect girlfriend or boyfriend, the perfect friend, the perfect worker, or the perfect student — you can’t do it all.
There are not enough hours in the day to get everything done, to see everyone you want to see, to do everything you want to do. If you spend the limited amount of days you have thinking that you absolutely have to cross every bullet of tasks off a list, you will never be truly content.
This is getting dreary, let me explain.
It is crucial to understand what you can do. Working incredibly hard while spreading yourself too thin over a variety of different assignments or responsibilities can hurt you in the end. It’s not that you aren’t smart enough, that you don’t work hard enough, or that you can’t handle it; it is impossible. It is impossible to flawlessly accomplish every single task you face in your daily life. It is against our human nature to accept this, but it’s unfortunately true.
Does that mean that you give up? Of course not. You are a hard-working, determined, focused superhero, but even superheroes need rest. Even superheroes need time to slow it down and take a breath. A healthy mind is a smart mind, and running until you can’t run anymore is dangerously exhausting. Enjoy the quiet moments by yourself, soak in every bit of happiness you feel, and feed off of priceless times spent with people you love.
And finally, be proud of yourself. I know how you feel. I know sometimes you feel anxious, nervous and afraid, but I also know the reason why you feel those emotions is because you have extremely high expectations for yourself. Put less focus on being “perfect” and take a couple minutes to appreciate the hard work you have already put in. Celebrate the little wins alongside the big ones, and congratulate yourself like you congratulate your loved ones when you’re proud of them.
You can’t do it all today, and that’s OK. You will do it all, I promise. You are determined, energetic, and alive. You have people that love you, are proud of you, and you have every reason to be proud of yourself too.
