Tag: stress

Mistake #2: Taking on too much

Ever feel like you’re underwater? For the first time in my life, I do. All because I’m doing too much.

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When I meet someone and explain how I make my living, the response is often “Wow, you’ve got a lot on your plate.”

I never thought I did until recently. Until the fall of this year. Now, as I near the end, I can see how much of a mistake taking on too much can be.

Every freelancer knows you have to cobble together a livelihood from a range of income sources, and if they don’t total a full-time salary, you don’t feel you’re working hard enough.

Because I’ve taken on too much, I’ve let things slide. Not in my professional life, but my personal life. My home is disorganized. I’m behind on laundry and cleaning. I either bulk cook meals and we eat a week of leftovers or my family fends for themselves on the nights I’m not at home (and I’m not at home a lot). They put up with me, but I’m finding it hard to put up with myself.

The clearest evidence that I’m doing too much is that I’ve lost track of time. What happened to Halloween? And how is it already less than a week ’til Thanksgiving?

I’m no Superman, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Hell, some days I don’t feel like I have the energy to get out of bed.

I’m underwater, and unless I shed some things that are weighing me down, I’m going to drown.

What’s weighing you down? What mistakes are you ready to acknowledge and let go of?

Mistake #1: Going negative

I made the mistake of going negative, and now we’re all paying the price.

LindaLeave a comment

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I could blame it on the election season but then that wouldn’t demonstrate me taking ownership. I did it. I was wrong.

It’s a week later, and Facebook still provokes stress. I had a part to play in sharing social media that resulted in outcomes that scare so many of us. And even now, though I’ve tried to not go there, the negativity proliferates.

If you don’t have something good to say, don’t say anything at all. It’s an old adage, but one I’m trying to follow on social media. My mistake is that I gave a lot of free media coverage to attention-getting stories and individuals that didn’t warrant my time or focus. My new approach is to focus on being a creator rather than a consumer, and to build up rather than tear down. This website is a first step.

What’s the mistake you’re ready to own up to today?