Iโm doing it! One step at a time. Sometimes I falter. Sometimes I backslide. Sometimes Iโm completely successful and walk awayโฆ knowing I will be ok.
This lesson of โI am Enoughโ is a hard one to learn when Iโve spent a lifetime pleasing others to gain acceptance and love.
Today, I do have unconditional love in my life from the people most important to me.
STILL, I havenโt completely put to rest those voices of my childhood that told me through repeated actions, inactions, verbal and nonverbal cues that I had to earn love, earn attention, earn worthiness.
If anyone feels this way now or has struggled with it in the past, my heart goes out to YOU.
YOU are Enough!
YOU are worthy of the life you want.
You are worthy of the love you want.
You are worthy of the career you want.
Whatever you can dream, you are enough for it!
We are always a โWork in Progressโ and at the same time ENOUGH.
We are Enough to meet that challenge that scares us.
We are Enough to take that opportunity we secretly tell ourselves we donโt deserve.
We are Enough to be loved flaws and all.
We are Enough to walk away from relationships and situations that no longer serve us well.
As I type this, I say these things to myself: A reminder that I AM ENOUGH!
Iโm in Athens, Georgia for 2 weeks to help family. I love them and Iโm happy to have a job that allows me to work from anywhere so I can be here to help when they need it.
Those who are in the Healthcare profession or are caregivers for loved ones know what this means. Itโs an act of love, done gratefully and (hopefully) gracefully. It is also emotionally, mentally, and physically draining.
This is a reminder that itโs time to take a BREAK, or as I call it a โTime Out.โ
Iโve been here a week and today I needed that โtime out.โ Luckily, the weather has started to turn for Autumn and the temperature/humidity has let up and cooled. So today, my time is being spent outside.
The Georgia Botanical Gardens has always been a favorite place for me, when I lived here and now when I visit.
Botanical Garden BeautyWater Feature at Visitor Center Entrance
As I sit by this beautiful water feature at the entrance to The Visitor Center, I feel my stress, sadness, anxiety and exhaustion melt awayโฆ
I hope you take a โTime Outโ if you need it. Remember: youโre no good to anyone if youโre not good to yourself โค๏ธ
PLEASE! Tell me Iโm not the only person who struggles with this conundrum!
What do you do when you want attention?
What if you donโt want to ASK for attention?
We want attention. We want certain kinds of attention. We want others to know what we want without having to ASK.
Sound Familiar?
The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman, deals with this issue from the marriage/relationship aspect. If you havenโt read it, I highly recommend it. Discovering your โlove languageโ can be a HUGE boost to your relationship. More importantly, knowing your partnerโs love language could completely transform the way you communicate with each other.
With friendships, I find this โneedโ for reciprocal attention, time, or interest much harder to figure out. A lot of MY problems in this area can be attributed to my โpeople-pleasingโ tendencies. This bad habit has blurred the lines and been ineffective in developing reciprocal relationships with others.
SoโฆI reach out to YOU, dear readers, for your experience, expertise, and resources.
HOW do you get your needs met with friendships?
How do you determine: when to stay or walk away?
What traits tell you THIS will be a friendship worth investing in?
Iโm looking for honest experience and honest answers, especially if youโve overcome a โPeople-Pleaserโ personality issue.
This. This is my โThank God itโs Fridayโ faceโฆ even though I work Saturdays.
My TGIF Face!
I miss weekends when I got together with friends (plural) for dinner, or coffee, or a movie.
I miss having a social life!
Laughing with friends (or commiserating) lightens our loadโฆ and letโs face it, no matter WHO you are the load has been heavy since this time last year.
Iโm ready for a return to life of gathering with friends.
Easter is coming and Iโm ready to join in the annual tradition of gathering with my friendโs family for food and fun.
Spring is comingโฆ Iโm ready for picnics, beach parties, and kids laughter.
Iโm ready to not be afraid because I have allergies and my runny nose, sneezing and coughing are going to scare EVERYONE into thinking I have The Plague.
Iโm ready to give up the mask! To not feel like Iโm constantly choking on my own air to make others feel safe.
Iโm ready for CHANGE! Back to the normal Iโm used to, not this insanity we are currently living in.
I think weโre making up for the past few years of unusual warm Winters๐คฃ.
Last week: almost 2 feet, today 5-7 inches… we shall see ๐ค. The rest of the week is calling for a few inches almost EVERY DAY ๐.
I DO love the snow. The impact it has on my job as a Home Healthcare Scheduler, not so much. The worry over caregivers not getting to clients, clients need care but donโt have anyone to clear driveways. ๐คฆ๐ปโโ๏ธ