DanaAtkin

I sometimes forget that I am just as important as everyone else. I spend so much time worrying about being a nice person that I forget to be nice to myself. In fact, I can be pretty tough on myself and I have to say, there are so many other people out there who are not very compassionate to themselves either.

Expressing your feelings is perhaps one of the most important things, especially for those of us who are so caught up trying to do the right thing by everyone else that we end up causing ourselves more stress than necessary.

I have essentially been working 2 weeks straight. I’m tired, I’m quite grumpy and to be honest, I’m totally peopled out. I have been constantly surrounded by people for 2 weeks continuous and last night, I’d just had it. Every little thing was suddenly too much to deal with. But instead of simply saying “I’m peopled out and just need some quiet time”, I was worried about causing anyone else stress! So I made myself feel even worse and I felt more resentful of any intrusion on my space. When I eventually said “I’m okay, I’m tired, I have a headache and I’m just peopled out.” I got a “I completely understand” and they left me to my space. I didn’t hurt them, I didn’t get attitude back, I just got a normal, calm and considerate response.

So it turns out, it wasn’t that hard at all. All I had to say from the outset was how I felt and I would have saved myself a lot of angst. Plus, I’m pretty sure they’re not a psychic – how else were they supposed to know I needed some space?

What do you need to communicate today?

As always, save the image to your desktop or phone or pin it somewhere you’ll see it. When you see it, say it and if you think that someone you know might benefit from this mantra, share it.