The past couple of weeks have been hectic. Balancing a full-time job, writing a monthly newsletter for a business group at work, writing weekly content for Noy Sauce, upgrading a client’s website, staying in shape through exercise, and growing a thriving relationship became difficult to manage. Reading the news did not help in maintaining some level of sanity while managing this balancing act. There were nights I slept at 2am in the morning to finish work and woke up before 8am to continue the grind, leaving me drained over the next couple of days.
Committing to too many endeavors spilled over to my personal life that I didn’t take a step back, take a deep breath, and then carry on.
Until Christmas Day.
When my mother and I got home from Christmas Mass, she told me to take it easy for the day. I jokingly replied, “Success takes no days off!”
Instead of doing many of the items on my Christmas Day list that morning and early afternoon (review my notes, reflect on the week, write content, run outside for exercise, laundry clothes), I got sidetracked spending most of that time cooking a tomahawk ribeye steak while exchanging Christmas greetings with family and friends.
It was already 2pm by the time we finished lunch. There was no point in going for a run outside that afternoon, since the sun sets early in the afternoon and I was full from eating steak served with cheesecake for dessert.
This was a sign to take a step back, take a deep breath, and then carry on.
My Christmas afternoon summed up in two pictures: tomahawk steak and laughing at memes and Christmas greetings
I continued exchanging Christmas greetings and memes throughout the afternoon and watching random videos of Beatrix Kiddo slice people with the Hattori Hanzo sword in the “Kill Bill” movies. Gratitude for a calmer Christmas compared from years past, and for a thriving year despite the circumstances around us brought a smile to my face. Sharing fun laughs with friends reminded me that life isn’t always about hard work, since there’s no point in doing so without people to share life’s successes with at the finish line. The good vibes took much of my focus away from reading the news.
Later in the afternoon as the sun set outside, I vacuumed the house and took out the trash while doing laundry. I reflected on my notes, progress for the week, and wrote content for much of the evening after cleaning.
The following day, I had my best exercise workout in a long time. The extra day of physical rest gave my body more time to recover and come back even stronger.
As someone who likes to make things as perfect as possible and jokingly thinks he’s an embodiment of perfection, there comes a point in our days where our bodies like to drift away and get proper rest. When we indulge in distractions, taking a step back and a deep breath in the process, only to carry on with what we originally planned to do, we come back with greater gusto and zest than if we had tried to force ourselves through distractions out of sheer willpower.
My Mama always reminded me during my young adult life by telling me, “Son, don’t forget to take a step back, take a deep breath, redirect your moral compass, and carry on.”
At the end of the day after Christmas, my mother told me, “See Noy? You still were productive!”
Christmas served as a reminder that our days are never perfect, even if we strive for perfection. Instead of telling ourselves, “Well, our day got derailed from all these distractions, so what the hell?” as we shrug our shoulders and give up for the rest of the day, we can naturally drift and flow with our bodies and accept that there will always be distractions.
What matters is how we manage distractions, coming back stronger after taking a step back, taking a deep breath, and carrying on. We manage distractions by setting aside time in our days to play “catch up” on our work, commit to fewer projects, and of course, laugh at people’s goofiness and vanity on social media.
Without taking a step back, taking a deep breath, and carrying on by resting, our bodies can’t properly build muscle after stressing it from an intense workout.
Without taking a step back, taking a deep breath, and carrying on by playing, we cannot easily develop the necessary skills to thrive in our crafts.
Without taking a step back, taking a deep breath, and carrying on by praying, we cannot lay a strong foundation for a thriving spiritual life and relationship with God.
Enjoy this Christmas and New Year season. You deserve the physical and mental break. You and your body will thank you for it next year 😉