Do you tell yourself “If I am not working, I am being lazy.”

I find this one shows up at home especially.

You work all day and then you come home and you slow down even just a little bit, and that idea that we are lazy floats in.

And feeling like we are lazy, doesn’t feel good so we avoid it by making sure we are still working – doing housework or thinking about working.

If you’re telling yourself this, it will be making sure that you are working.

So, let’s crack this open with some questions.

Why does “you not working” MEAN you are being lazy?

Does you not doing anything for 5 minutes mean that you are lazy?

You not doing anything for 5 minutes does not mean you are lazy unless you tell yourself it does.

The first time I sat for 5 min with a cup of tea and let myself do nothing, it was a struggle.

Now I sit for an hour reading a novel while my husband buzzes around getting things done on the weekend.

This took some, a lot, of practice.

So many times, the guilt swept in and set me in motion again.

But, try it.

Instead of working your way out of the guilt of sitting, just sit with the guilt for a minute.

When you sit there, what comes up?

For me, it’s I should be doing something. I should do this or that.

This doesn’t go away. But it opens up a conversation.

Listen to what you are telling yourself, ask yourself why and is it serving me right now?

Meet yourself in this way.

What are you telling yourself that’s keeping you working, when you don’t want to or know it’s not best for you in that moment.

If this resonates for you, check out the one thing you can learn today to stop overworking ⬇️