Being Hard On Yourself - It's Not Worth It

Photo by Mel Stringer

We all know the saying "Don't be hard on yourself." Well it's true. With so much going on, I have to remind myself not to be so hard on myself.

If you're just catching up to my blog, I work for myself at home. I'm my own boss. There are days (most days) where I never get everything I wanted to do done. I always have plans to do 5 or 6 furry monsters, and some days those monsters end up spilling over into the following day. It didn't bother me in the past, and I'd just continue on with my work the next day, but this month its been bothering me. Here's why.

On May 1st I had solicited 15 stores to carry my monsters. I received 5 new stores that said yes, and I had 2 in the making (already agreed). I made a promise to all these stores that they will be receiving their shipment of monsters by the end of May. We're already in the 3rd week of the month with 2 more to go, and I haven't really gotten very far in my monster making. The point I'm trying to make is that every day I stress myself out for no reason. What I should be doing is making a list of what needs to be done in the day, and doing the best I can to get the work done. If in that day I don't succeed in finishing my work, I have to let it go and just continue tomorrow. This is something that I struggle with every day. Accepting that I am doing my best, and to not be so hard on myself.

Source unknown

The words in the above poster are words I have to tell myself every day. This doesn't mean that I only work half as hard, but that I keep doing the amount of work that I plan, and if I don't get it finished that day, it's okay!

Speaking on this.... I have a friend, Barbara (who owns Rocky B Creations and is in the same program as I am, also developing her business). Her and I are very similar. We are the same as in we make ourselves feel guilty if we don't get all the work we want done that day. On several occasions she's said to me to just do what I can, but last week the words she told me sort of hit home this time. She said, "Everyone needs to work at their own rhythm." I know people expect me to work 9 - 5 like them, to get up at 6 am to 'get ready for work', but to be honest when I think back to all the days I worked for someone, I was never really very effective in the morning. I would always go to work, drink my coffee, read my emails and just putz around on the internet. I'd put off my real work until much later in the morning. I'd pretend to be working, just so I could relax in the morning. My main goal was to wake up so I could feel productive. Since I've been working at home, I've been feeling the same way! I wake up around 8 or 9 am, and I drink my coffee and read my emails in the morning until I feel like I'm awake enough to get to work. I have to remind myself that there is nothing wrong with this! If this is what it takes for me to be productive, I should accept it. I can't change how I work. I've been like this for years! I am slowly accepting who I am, and how I work. I realized long ago that my work days start at 11 am, and end around 11 pm. Some days I get into a groove, and my work day will go until late in the night. That's okay! I do what I need to do to get my work done.

The moral of this blog post is.... Don't be hard on yourself. We all work at our own rhythms, and it doesn't serve a purpose to put yourself down, or make yourself feel guilty because you didn't get it all done that day.
  
Do your best, and let whatever you do today be enough.