The Push Myself Epidemic
Last week, I had horrendous chest pains. There I was, a healthy 23-year-old who thought I may or may not have been suffering a heart attack. While the pain was prominent, I still wanted to attend work, albeit my aches. It wasn’t until both my mom and a doctor told me that the diagnosis (both physically and mentally) called for working from home (it wasn’t a heart attack). While it was the right choice, I wasn’t happy about it.
Let me back up. I am self-admittedly OCD about my work. Growing up, sick or not, I hated to miss school. I wasn’t someone who played hooky often because while I was out and about I wouldn’t enjoy myself—I’d be too focused on what I was missing! Now, as a member of the working world, I feel the exact same way.
After a day where I haven’t felt a hundred percent to begin with and pushed myself to go to work, I leave completely pooped. Even still, if a friend asks to hang out, go for a drink, watch a show, etc., I’m not one to turn them down. More often than not, I am suckered into a night of doing something merely because I feel I don’t have good enough of a reason not to oblige.
The urge to do-do-do and go-go-go especially plagues me during Women’s Small Business Month. Look at all these successful entrepreneurs who make work their everything! They rarely get a second to relax, right? How dare I waste my “free time” doing something inane and self-indulgent like taking a bubble bath? Therein lies my real problem: No matter how hard a day at work is, no matter how tired or half-sick I may feel, when I’m given my “own” time, I often have the urge to get out and do something!
I’m sure others can relate. Do you sometimes feel like when you aren’t working you should be making the most of your free time? Do you think down time, like curling up in your bed and catching up on sleep, is wasting your time?
-Lynden Halpern
GIRL TALK TIME: Do you push yourself to go out when you aren’t feeling up to it? How do you balance work and life? Have you ever had a sickness be a sign that maybe you should slow it down? Let it out, ladies!
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14 Comments
Post a CommentI am so guilty of the same thing… I find myself doing things that I said that I would not do(at work and home). Instead of telling family ‘no’, I find myself dashing all over town handling other people’s responsibility. I’ve made a concious decision to slow down and enjoy things more and not to over-extend myself.
dont over demand off yourself
No matter what, you have to make time for yourself.
I am a teacher….we are so guilty of going to work even on days when we should stay home because if I don’t come to work, my classroom will be a mess…my kids will forget how to behave and I will have to grade all of the worksheets they did while I was out.
I work 40-45 hrs a week.. but that is still just full time.. sometimes I do force myself to go out to join my friends and I do end up enjoying the night and glad I did.
I’m actually going through this epidemic now. I push myself to the point that I have a migraine routinely. I feel depressed when I am not being useful. It’s getting out of control.
I’ve been lucky that I haven’t gotten sick often. However, when I do feel something isn’t quite right, I stay home. 99% of the time, if you come into work feeling crappy, you feel even worse!
I think having some “down time” and taking some to relax is essential to life. without it you get sucked into not having a life and being left alone. Being a go getter is a great quality, but balancing work and your social life is key
I was definitely always go-go-go when I worked in consulting and finance. Now that I’m an entrepreneur doing something that I love (food writing and photography), its even more important to set aside downtime, since work easy runs into evenings and weekends.
learning to say “no” and put yourself first can be very hard to do, and doing it doesn’t make you a bad employee or friend..
There are plenty of times I should take a sick day and don’t. I regret this 9 out of 10 times.
I am a workaholic too! It is taking a toll on my health for sure.
I am a workaholic & I admit to pushing myself but when you learn that others don’t care for you or your health….things change. I now take Mental Health days, plan vacations, and take my sick days regularly. It definitely helps in separating work and life!
I use to be like this but have gotten more relaxed. Yea, my dentist was asking me if I clenched my teeth because my tongue had teeth marks. I said I didn’t think I was but after that I did notice that I was clenching my teeth when I was stressed. Funny what the body shows and you don’t even realize it. Now I’m more conscious of it and relax more.