Be patient with yourself

23 days to 23; A Birthday Series Day 16

Breathe.

Photo by processingly on Unsplash

The world is moving so fast some of us are barely trying to keep up with the pace. We are already panting and worn out because we are chasing false motivation - the drive from the outside that doesn’t come from a healthy and genuine place on the inside. It’s built on pressure, fear and performance. And when we build on pressure, we normalize stress as a baseline state.

We are very conversant with the phrase “time waits for no one” and because of that, we live on survival mode so we are not “left behind”. We believe we can do everything every second the clock ticks.

We have gotten so used to staying busy that we can’t afford to sit still because we have made stillness feel like failure, like discomfort, feel draining.

Being patient with yourself is not laziness or idleness. It’s about giving your mind and body a moment to rest. It’s taking a maintenance day.

It’s taking a pause not necessarily to reset anything, but just to take the garbage out. Time waits for no one but no one’s time is moving at the same speed.

It’s taking a pause to feel - It’s okay to not be okay. What’s not okay is forcing yourself to “be okay”.

Being patient can be a lot of things, but it’s also a soft promise to yourself that no matter how long it takes, you won’t abandon yourself on the journey.

It’s not “steeze” when you hype yourself with “no days off,” “no grind, no shine,” or “sleep is for the weak,” even though you’re mentally and emotionally drained.

It’s not all in your head when you feel heavy or drained, your body knows stress and it is giving you warning signs that should be taken seriously not warded off.

This is the self care practice you are running from.

Being patient is a virtue.

“Time waits for no one” does not mean you can’t slow down to get things right. The only competition you have is you.

Learn to be patient with yourself.

I might not have covered a lot on this post but I hope this little one helped 🫶🏾

This is Day 16!

From my heart and for the journey - Oyin 💕