What happens inside of you when you feel tired and overwhelmed, but you still push on through?

What does it feel like in your body when life starts moving too fast, your responsibilities have grown to be too huge and too many, and you feel like one more thing will simply rip you apart at the seams?

My son Ocean shared with me that there was a kid in his class this week who was really tired. Because his classmate was really tired, he was being “mean” to a lot of his friends in the class.

The morning my son shared this with me, he was also feeling very tired – so tired that he asked if he could stay home from school for the day.

I was reluctant to allow this to happen for several reasons. But then Ocean shared with me that he didn’t want to be mean to his classmates, and he was worried he might because of how he was feeling.

Without knowing it, my kiddo was asking for his version of a “mental health day”. It was such a powerful reminder to me of what we as adults so often override in ourselves.

My son could feel the wobbly-ness inside of himself. He could sense it was going to be hard if he pushed and went to school. And he knew that if he stretched himself that thin, he’d act in ways he really didn’t want.

Ocean stayed home from school on Tuesday, and after a day of quiet and space, he had a glorious rest of the week at school because he’d had that break.

It made me look at my own life and question the ways I still override what’s happening inside of myself.

I, like you, inherited some very strong cultural conditioning to push through, override what I’m feeling, and keep going even when my body and energy are asking for a break.

I, like you, inherited the idea that I should be able to keep going, I should be able to keep pushing, and I should feel proud of myself when I accomplish something even if it’s at the expense of my mental, physical, and emotional health.

Because in our culture, productivity is its own kind of reward. Many of us have become addicted to the adrenaline high we get from going and going and going.

But the truth is that the need to be productive never ends. There will also be a long list of things that need to get done. There will always be another task, milestone, or project that needs tending to.

There will always be things that need our attention, and something that can’t move forward without our input.

But what’s also true is that life is happening alongside all of this productivity and action. We get to choose how many hours of life we give to projects, business, and even housework.

We get to preserve ourselves so that we can still enjoy life, and not spend it all in the name of productivity. Because life is a journey, not a destination. We get to feel good as we go instead of waiting to feel good until we accomplish something.

I believe life is meant to be relished. Life isn’t only about work, productivity, and profit.

Yes, there will be moments in time when pushing and engaging a lot of time and effort is important. But I do not believe life is meant to be only that, all the time.

My son reminded me that there are times when we simply need to say STOP to everything that’s going on around us, especially when things start to hurt.

There are times when we simply need to slow down, feel, and heal.

We need to develop the self-awareness inside ourselves to notice when we’re starting to wobble. We have to be strong enough to notice that we need to slow things down because we’re pushing too hard and stretching too thin.

We need to notice the signs and sensations our bodies give us when we need a break. We get to give that break to ourselves.

We get to give ourselves permission to stop and simply BE.

Do you know what it feels like in your body when you start to feel tired? When overwhelm or resentment start to take hold? When pressure is building and your breaking point is within view?

This is my invitation to you to start noticing the sensations in your body. To start listening to what your feelings feel like. To start being proactive before things get too much or go too far.

The more you’re able to listen to and honor what your body is telling you and let go of the shoulds and pushing and relentless productivity, the more you’ll be able to catch yourself before things go too far.

Before you’ve pushed yourself to the brink and you get sick, or start acting “mean”, or you hurt yourself because it’s just too much right now.

I invite you to ask yourself when your next “mental health day” is going to be – and to schedule that day for yourself. Give yourself the time to stop, feel, and heal.

You might think you can’t slow down, you can’t walk away, you can’t stop. Please remember you’re not a machine. You’re a woman.

You require proper rest, abundant nourishment, and space and time that isn’t dedicated to anything but listening to and caring for yourself.

It’s time to let go of the old paradigm that championed the “no pain, no gain” mentality we’re all ready to let go of.

It’s time to embrace an unhurried, yet deliberate and determined way of working and living.

It’s time to tend to yourself and give yourself what you really need.

No one else can do this for you. It’s up to you, and only you.