Happy belated birthday Lisa! I hope you're doing well and I hope that everything for you gets better day by day, even if it's a little bit because it always goes a long way in the long run!
Happy Birthday Lisa!! Hopefully you can do a lot of whatever you love doing today. Thanks for this writing on Wholeheartedness. As usual you have spurred me on to change my perspective which is always helpful.
Hey! This was an interesting read. I don't think I'd really articulated that to myself before but it slotted straight into a part of my brain that felt carved out ready for it. I just wanted to wish you a very happy birthday, and to say thank you for writing these things for us.
Happy Birthday! Thank you so much for this gift. I’ve definitely had this same burnout feeling about things. For me, some of it is definitely halfhearted connection with things like family and my job, but others feel more like a realization that things I’m doing aren’t the thing I ought to be doing. It’s the necessity of doing things that, even if done wholeheartedly, would never bring me happiness, joy, or even a modicum of satisfaction. Eight months of illness is making me realize how much emotional and physical energy I’ve wasted over my 45 years on people, concerns, and activities that just aren’t actually worth my time. It’s made me greedy with my time. My time feels valuable to me in a way it never has. There is an immediacy to every action. Do I want to do this? Is this worth my very limited resources?
I’m not sure what to do about that, other than question some of those demands and making big life changes. I guess we’ll see. In the meantime I’ll try practicing wholehearted ness and see if it helps.
You bring up such important points! We cannot be wholehearted about every single thing we do in life. Some things, like filing taxes or going to the dentist will always feel like grunt work that we just have to get through. But maybe we can find pockets of wholeheartedness even when big parts of our life feel halfhearted. AND - this is so important - the difficulty to be wholehearted can also be one way of recognizing that it’s time for bigger changes in our lives. Ive found that for myself recently and it sounds like you are too. Sometimes we can reframe how we think about our approach to something difficult and discover wholeheartedness. Other times, we have to take a wrecking ball to the whole thing and rebuild. I’ve experienced both of these in the past year! For me, being mindful and present (including present to my less than pleasant feelings) helps me to get clearer on what “buildings” need to be demolished and which ones just need a new coat of paint.
hi..Thanks so much for your newsletter. I will listen to the podcast you recommend. I'm a grandmother, but I still can understand the demands of children, and grandchildren! I honestly don't know how you are doing everything while dealing with being a long hauler. Everyday is hard, but I do realize we need to look for the good around us.
Words of wisdom! Sometimes I get caught up in what I feel like I should be doing and get angry with myself when my body is too tired to keep up. Lately, I have been using weekends for just resting to help heal. I am just about 7 months out from my covid diagnosis, but still get very tired when I push myself the way I used to. I'm learning to respect and listen to my body...perhaps a positive from my covid experience if there can be anything positive about it. I feel for you...my kids are grown...can't imagine taking care of anyone else during bouts of fatigue. Thoughts are with you and thank you for your uplifting positivity!
Thank you so much, Lisa! I'm also used to pushing my body and am having to learn to be gentle and to listen to what my body has to say. I agree with you that this is a positive from the covid chaos! I'm glad you're giving yourself more rest. I'm doing that, too, and also finding ways to move that feel joyful but less effortful. Wishing you a restful and wholehearted week ahead!
After writing this post, I came across this wonderful podcast, in which Brene Brown interviews the authors of "Burnout" - one of whom happens to be a fellow long-hauler! I loved it so much that I just bought the audiobook and am a few hours in. I highly recommend it. It looks at the issue of burnout (with a focus on women) in a practical and science-backed way. Here's the podcast: https://brenebrown.com/podcast/brene-with-emily-and-amelia-nagoski-on-burnout-and-how-to-complete-the-stress-cycle/
Happy belated birthday Lisa! I hope you're doing well and I hope that everything for you gets better day by day, even if it's a little bit because it always goes a long way in the long run!
Thank you, Tanner!
Happy belated Birthday Lisa ❤ Hope you had a great day of wholeheartedness :) thanks for this amazing post!
Happy Birthday Lisa!! Hopefully you can do a lot of whatever you love doing today. Thanks for this writing on Wholeheartedness. As usual you have spurred me on to change my perspective which is always helpful.
Hey! This was an interesting read. I don't think I'd really articulated that to myself before but it slotted straight into a part of my brain that felt carved out ready for it. I just wanted to wish you a very happy birthday, and to say thank you for writing these things for us.
Thanks so much, Vinnie! 😍
Happy Birthday! Thank you so much for this gift. I’ve definitely had this same burnout feeling about things. For me, some of it is definitely halfhearted connection with things like family and my job, but others feel more like a realization that things I’m doing aren’t the thing I ought to be doing. It’s the necessity of doing things that, even if done wholeheartedly, would never bring me happiness, joy, or even a modicum of satisfaction. Eight months of illness is making me realize how much emotional and physical energy I’ve wasted over my 45 years on people, concerns, and activities that just aren’t actually worth my time. It’s made me greedy with my time. My time feels valuable to me in a way it never has. There is an immediacy to every action. Do I want to do this? Is this worth my very limited resources?
I’m not sure what to do about that, other than question some of those demands and making big life changes. I guess we’ll see. In the meantime I’ll try practicing wholehearted ness and see if it helps.
You bring up such important points! We cannot be wholehearted about every single thing we do in life. Some things, like filing taxes or going to the dentist will always feel like grunt work that we just have to get through. But maybe we can find pockets of wholeheartedness even when big parts of our life feel halfhearted. AND - this is so important - the difficulty to be wholehearted can also be one way of recognizing that it’s time for bigger changes in our lives. Ive found that for myself recently and it sounds like you are too. Sometimes we can reframe how we think about our approach to something difficult and discover wholeheartedness. Other times, we have to take a wrecking ball to the whole thing and rebuild. I’ve experienced both of these in the past year! For me, being mindful and present (including present to my less than pleasant feelings) helps me to get clearer on what “buildings” need to be demolished and which ones just need a new coat of paint.
hi..Thanks so much for your newsletter. I will listen to the podcast you recommend. I'm a grandmother, but I still can understand the demands of children, and grandchildren! I honestly don't know how you are doing everything while dealing with being a long hauler. Everyday is hard, but I do realize we need to look for the good around us.
Thank you so much! Caring for kids through all of this helps with meaning and connection but definitely sets me back on rest and recovery time! ❤️
Words of wisdom! Sometimes I get caught up in what I feel like I should be doing and get angry with myself when my body is too tired to keep up. Lately, I have been using weekends for just resting to help heal. I am just about 7 months out from my covid diagnosis, but still get very tired when I push myself the way I used to. I'm learning to respect and listen to my body...perhaps a positive from my covid experience if there can be anything positive about it. I feel for you...my kids are grown...can't imagine taking care of anyone else during bouts of fatigue. Thoughts are with you and thank you for your uplifting positivity!
Thank you so much, Lisa! I'm also used to pushing my body and am having to learn to be gentle and to listen to what my body has to say. I agree with you that this is a positive from the covid chaos! I'm glad you're giving yourself more rest. I'm doing that, too, and also finding ways to move that feel joyful but less effortful. Wishing you a restful and wholehearted week ahead!
After writing this post, I came across this wonderful podcast, in which Brene Brown interviews the authors of "Burnout" - one of whom happens to be a fellow long-hauler! I loved it so much that I just bought the audiobook and am a few hours in. I highly recommend it. It looks at the issue of burnout (with a focus on women) in a practical and science-backed way. Here's the podcast: https://brenebrown.com/podcast/brene-with-emily-and-amelia-nagoski-on-burnout-and-how-to-complete-the-stress-cycle/