Thoughtful Thursday: Never Underestimate the Importance

Isn't it amazing how everything just starts to come together and that patterns are apparent when you start focusing on something important?

I am on a quest to be okay with not being perfect. In the past two weeks, I've signed up for a course on The Art of Imperfection with Brene Brown, I've gathered all my materials to start, and I am reading the book, one chapter at a time. In the past two weeks, I have noticed more and more memes, news items, articles, and comments from others about perfectionism.

Now, I don't know if there has been a recent upswing in these types of things in my environment or if they have been there forever and I am just more likely to notice these days. (I really suspect a combination of both.)

I received a message yesterday from a friend of mine who noticed that I didn't post anything on this blog. She inquired if I was okay.

This was important. It was important to me and made me realize that there are times when perfection (which I was striving for by being SuperTherapist this week [I have a cape waiting for me in California - REALLY!] and working through someded breathing difficulties) is more harmful than good. I was feeling guilty about taking my last day off in order to stay home, get on the heavy-duty (and full of side-effects) medication, and nebulize so I could breathe without coughing, but that friend asking me if I was okay remind me of the importance of self-care.

A simple request shook me out of my preoccupation (and guilt about being at home) and reminded me that it is important to take time to be better. All of a sudden, many of the things that I saw in my environment started to reinforce the idea of needing to care for self and soul.

Guilt is a powerful emotion, but it does need to be managed and limited. There is no reason to feel guilty about taking time to manage your breathing. I know my clients will have missed me (and they will tell me over and over), but I also know that I cannot do music therapy if I cannot breathe so I have to prioritize. There are times when breathing is more important than clients. Yesterday was one of those days.

Today I can manage to go to work and manage breathing treatments as well. The major side effects are diminished and the rest of the side effects are things I can sing through (if I take my nebulizer with me and do regular breathing treatments). 

Never underestimate the importance of two things - noticing something and self-care.

Comments

  1. Anonymous9:12 AM

    First, breathing is ALWAYS more important than clients. Can't help clients if you're not breathing....

    Second, flylady.net helps me recover from perfectionism.

    Take care of yourself!

    Janice

    ReplyDelete

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