This time of year I am always just a little bit more stressed than usual. Like a runner straining through his laps at the 3/4 mark of a long distance race, I can see the end. At the same time, because I have chosen to take on tough projects and goals in my career, I get fatigued around March. When this hits, even the most admirable of goals must go on the back burner until I can get where I can run well again. Forget the projects and goals, I have to be present and emotionally available to my wife and three kids when I get home. This takes time “away” and an open mind to get there.
As a 4th grade teacher, each year my kids have to take a standardized test (cst). Nowadays a teacher’s career more or less mirrors those once-a-year scores. I’ve been very successful every year since 2003. Before that I was still finding my way as a teacher and there was not always the growth I wanted to see. Since then I have been successful because I stress a little more than usual. I don’t really know why so many people tend to think stress is bad. It’s only bad if you fail to manage it. You need to see yourself as a child. Would you drive a fatigued child into the ground with work and demands? Of course not. First of all, it would be terribly immoral and mean and second of all, it just wouldn’t get you the results you want anyway. At the same time, you know that child will never advance unless he is challenged at least a little. That means a little stress. So, if you are that child, what should you to to get yourself mentally healthy and strong to manage the stress? I’ll give you some thoughts but first here are 3 fatigued people I know whom I was thinking about this morning:
- A middle aged single mom who has lost her job and doesn’t know how she will support herself and her kid.
- A good-hearted single guy who is pining uncontrollably for a married woman half-way across the country.
- A person who made a terrible mistake and is now facing the consequences.
As I have considered these people’s issues in the last month, I have come up with no solutions for them. Nonetheless, I know they all need to put their mental health first. They should all make an appointment with a psychologist (cognitive behavioral therapist) to get their minds healthier. Without a rested, focused, and strong mind, goals and tasks are irrelevant. Even one who might tell me, “But Damien, I can’t feed my family.” I admit that is brutal; however, especially in these uncertain times, we must spend the hours in meditation and mind nurturing to keep ideas flowing through us. I’ve organized my life so at any time I can comepletely disconnect from my tasks. I keep them on a service called “Remember the Milk” online. I know they will be there when I “re-emerge.” Try to set your tasks up that way. Make your mental health a priority and you will see solutions materialize.
Did you ever have a terrible headache and then found it went away after a few ibuprofen and some “still time?” Well, when your mental health improves after making it a priority it is kind of like that only instead of the pain subsiding, you become empowered and solutions run through your mind instead of sadness, melancholy, and fatigue. Take care of yourself by making your mental health a priority today. Get away from your tasks and “the race.” At my school, sometimes at lunch I will walk the soccer field. Without blogs and tests and music and all the things I commit myself to, I need that time to remember why I do it and more importantly how to do it.
One Comment
Definitely a great reminder that if you don’t take care of yourself first, you will not be able to take care of others. Depression and anxiety only compound the issues and really affect your energy levels and thinking processes. Sometimes in those states, it’s really hard to recognize that a door might be opening somewhere that would ease the initial situation.