Practice avoiding the breaking point
Stress comes into our lives sometimes cumulatively in a way that we are able to manage and sustain until we come to a stage at which we realize we are surrounded by an imminently unmanageable burden of pressure.
What can we do to notice the oncoming breaking points and handle ourselves better each time they come into our lives?
I write this about my recent personal journey to this evening, and imagine some of you may feel the same way about comparable circumstances in your lives.
AT WORK: The more successful and bigger our lab becomes, I find as a PI, mentor, and leader in my community, that there are many more burdens and pressures each day and week that accumulate. Most weeks, I manage and put out fires and find myself exhausted, but making it through and finding some break over the weekend to start again on Monday morning.
AT HOME: Two little children, family burdens and health concerns, regular day-to-day household chores and stressors do the same. The degree of mess and laundry pile in my house is a physical representation of the number of obstaces I struggle with and most weeks, come Saturday, clothes are put away and there is no pile of clean laundry on the floor, waiting to be addressed.
AROUND US: The global worries, national crises, pandemic, and other stressors creep into my daily life, too, all the time. Some weeks I can compartmentalize and it seems things resolve and we move on.
INTEGRATIVE STRESS: Sometimes, everything comes together and constantly. Slow leaks and a real-life game of wack-a-mole with your stressors and challenges can wear you down and at some point, you are past managing, and in the stage where you realize things are getting to be too much. Beyond this point, the breaking point.
Recognize the slow leak, the gradual build-up of managed, to unsustainable and overwhelming. Catch it early.
Find a way to take a break, even the smallest, to get some air and go back into the fray. In this middle stage, avoid answering emails without thinking and have compassion for those who are not successfully managing what you are managing. Do things that you know are good for you.
At the breaking point, find support, take a break, and remember to let something go. Stay focused on something positive and balanced in your emotions. Practice being mindful and even-keeled in those toughest of moments and days. You will become more proficient and unflappable.
