I don’t know about you, but I am someone who likes to get the best out of my day. Do you fill up yours with all sorts of events that give you very little time for your own needs? Even to the point that you could describe yourself as a square peg that likes to try to fit into round holes, or in other words, you like to fit lots of activities into very little time?
Well, I am a reformed square peg fitter! I once was excellent at fitting square pegs into round holes! That's what I thought anyway! And I probably still could, except I am aware of it now and the consequences of it, so I check myself regularly!!
What was the result of fitting square pegs into round holes do you think? For me, it was anxiety, stress, exhaustion, and resentment that followed! And the likelihood of causing an accident, like tripping up, falling down stairs all of those undesirables! But I did that to myself, so how was it possible that my emotions and state of exhaustion were anyone else's fault?
While all that sounds very logical, emotional stuff has no logic at all lots of the time! Why did I keep doing that? Maybe the perfectionist in me was calling, maybe the fear of not being good enough, maybe the idea of wanting to get the best out of the day, but in reality, that was just a way of justifying my behaviour for lack of self-love and self-care.
Now that I know better I can do better, thanks to the late Maya Angelou for that inspirational quote. It all goes back to awareness, balance, and control, my ABC for stress management. When we are in the midst of stressful events we sometimes fail to see the solution, or that we have tools to solve our problem ourselves.
As I have gotten older, the need for self-care has become much more urgent, than when I was an energetic younger person. I choose now to spend my energy on much more productive things, firstly by taking care of myself and then what energy is left I spend on other things, rather than the other way round.
There is so much joy to be found in the world. Rather than filling up my day with activities and events I choose to find the joy that is already there, acknowledge it, and appreciate it.
It is very refreshing to know that you can change the habits of a lifetime, by first becoming aware that you have some that do not serve you well, but when you don’t know any better you just keep repeating them! When you become aware, then you can make the necessary changes to habits that serve you better. Just like squashing the square peg into the round hole, a round one fits so much better! I am a round peg now, they fit in easier, and they even fit into square spaces too!Â
If you are a square peg fitter and would like to reform, I would be delighted to help you round off your edges. Just book a no-obligation discovery call through the website and we can have a chat about your needs.
There’s no time like the present!