Do you know when you need a break?

I realized today that sometimes I do not.  I had one of the worst days I’ve had in a really long time and I believe that most of it could have been avoided had I just realized that I needed a break.

I’ve had a headache for two days straight and up until about two hours ago, nothing I did helped.  I became extremely irritable yesterday afternoon and it pretty much carried on through this evening.

Even though I felt really bad last night, I still decided to follow through with the plans I had made.  Kind of wishing I could have a redo on that decision because I would now choose to have stayed home.

As a result of not knowing I needed to take a break and allowing myself to do so, it’s been a downhill spiral the past few days.  I’ve been on a short fuse, been hypersensitive, have shut down, been flat out mean to people and was late to an appointment today.  I also didn’t make it on time to a class this afternoon I was going to observe because I didn’t plan ahead well enough for the traffic during prime school zone times.

This caused five people to get the complete wrong impression of me and experience me at 30% of what I’m normally operating from when I’m at my best.

I feel like it cost me alot, but I feel fortunate to have learned such a valuable lesson.  I am committed to knowing when to take a break if I’m not at my best and being OK with not accomplishing all that I had planned for that day or understanding that in some cases it really is OK to back out on plans I have made.  It actually would have been the best thing for all parties involved.

Do you know when you are not at your best and need to take a break vs. feel the need to keep on going?

I’m committed to being aware of this in the future and being OK taking a break.  I’m committed to taking time for myself when I need it to relax and recharge and not feel guilty about it.  And I am committed to being OK saying no, especially when I know that it’s best for all parties involved.  I’d like to challenge you to do the same.  I believe it can potentially prevent alot of unnecessary stress, frustration and misunderstanding.