Hey y'all! Happy Monday.
I am a very type-A, go go go, kind of person. When we got sent home from school over spring break I was so worried that I wouldn't fill my time well, and that my grades would suffer. As it turns out I filled my time by running and studying a lot and my grades thrived, but I didn't know that would happen. Our culture today tells us that if we aren't doing something "productive" at all times, we are lazy. If we aren't excelling in our careers, picking up meaningful hobbies, and showing those things off, we probably aren't doing anything at all. But how is this substantial? When we go on social media and see someone posting about a "lazy day" there's usually something about how they deserve it after the full week they had. Friends that work full time and have crazy shifts that are finally getting a day off, moms whose kids are on a play date not at their house, students who just got through finals. You know the posts, you've probably made one! I know I have! So why do we have to prove that we were doing something "productive" before that "lazy day"?
I personally believe that if y'all wanted to do nothing but lounge for a week at a time, I have no reason to judge you for that. Because I have had weeks like that! So what gives me the right to believe you to be lazy from that one week?
I understand the thought comes from the classic punchlines on tv shows and movies where there's that adult son that never moved out or got a job and his parents can't get him out of their basement or whatever, but that just isn't the norm. So it's interesting to me how much this seems to have affected us, subconsciously or not, and how much we want to succeed in life.
Success does not always equal never taking time off. I grew up with the idea that your success should be more determined by how happy you are with your life. If I'm miserable in a job, how do I expect to get better? If it's something I'm passionate about then every day will be a new opportunity to do the job better. Am I rambling? Absolutely. But this is my blog, and y'all are just reading it.
On the other hand I love getting in bed after a day where I crossed off everything on my to-do list. But everyday doesn't look like that! I tend to have to take a few days of breaks so I don't feel overwhelmed. I also usually feel my anxiety increasing the more I fill my days and the longer I go without time to myself, and end up crashing anyways. Being productive feels great, but every day shouldn't have to look jam-packed.
We are really good at showing off those days that are jam-packed though. Posting on our stories pictures of us working, and then of us working out, cooking dinner, etc. Trying to one-up the imaginary other person that isn't doing as much as us. It just isn't real. I'll admit I like showing off when I am being productive, but I've accepted myself and my productivity enough to not do it to brag as much as I used to. Now I am trying to get more in the habit of using social media as my time capsule. In a year I'll get a notification of what I was doing today, and I'll be reminded of my hard work, or of a nice day with friends and family, or a good meal, etc. And I am trying to be better at being honest online. Talking about when I am not motivated, (which has been happening a lot the past three days), about when I'm not feeling great about myself, etc. I do not claim to have started this blog series because I was already ahead of the curve. I want to help be a part of the curve. I can't talk about making social media more real, or more honest, if I can't be honest too!
I decided on this topic for today's Real Me Monday because since Thursday afternoon I haven't felt like doing much of anything. And I know it's because for the majority of the week last week I was doing a great job of making sure my entire day was filled from 7am-8pm. Then I realized it's my summer break and I'm pretty sure I'm allowed to enjoy that! So for the past few days I've been reading, and sleeping in until 9, racing to get Chik-fil-A breakfast with my mum (and missing it by 3 minutes), and lounging outside when the weather's nice. Today I worked out for the first time since early last week, and I honestly don't even mind. My schedule has been making me feel good, and even if I haven't done much of anything; I've been happy.
Thank y'all for reading this post, and I hope whatever you have been doing to fill your time has been making you happy too!