For the last two weeks, my husband has been traveling. This isn’t anything new. He’s been traveling for work for the past 6+ years. When he first started traveling, I would be physically and emotionally exhausted when he returned. I’d be WIPED OUT! I’d hand the kids off to him and throw my hands in the air. Exhaustion was something I felt regularly and it started to impact my happiness in life. I had SO MUCH TO DO.
Fast forward to today. This is what my calendar looked like for the past 14 days.
Lunch with a friend + 11 Tennis practices + 4 Gymnastic classes + 2 State team tennis matches + State doubles tennis match + Paul Revere poem recitation +Middle school tennis party + Photo shoot for website + 2 CPA Music performances + Youth conference + Hair Appointment + Call with website designer + Call with brand designer + Embroidery for baptism towel + Teach 3 songs for Primary + Coaching Calls + Workouts + Scriptures + Laundry + Driving girls to early morning seminary and school + Sleep
AND BREATH!
Whew! It seems like A LOT. But you know what’s crazy, I’m NOT EXHAUSTED. At all.
How can that be?
Exhaustion has both mental and physical components. Let’s talk mental exhaustion, because this is the one that really gets us down. Our brains only have so much energy to use each day in making decisions and accomplishing tasks. It’s NOT the number of tasks you have on your calendar that creates exhaustion, but the WAY you use your mind in thinking about those tasks. I used to tell myself things like, “I have so much to do. It’s not fair he’s gone again. Everyone else’s husbands are home. Why does my husband have to travel? She thinks her life is hard. Ya, right! My life is hard. She has no idea how lucky she is.” I believed all of this was true. That I was just conveying the news of my life. But in believing these things I was actually limiting my success and CREATING EXHAUSTION. The exhaustion didn’t come from the tasks, the number of tasks, or even from my husband being gone. It only came from MY BRAIN. I was creating it which meant I could eliminate it. 🙂
I can now look at a full calendar and not feel a tinge of exhaustion. I can be on day 14 of my husband being gone and be just as together as I was the day he left. This is all possible because I NOW choose to tell myself things like, “I’ve got this. This is easy. Take it one event at a time. There’s nothing you can’t handle. There’s no one better to complete these tasks. They’re as good as done.” I CHOOSE intentionally to NOT create exhaustion.
Now, I live with three teenagers and teens are especially prone to mental exhaustion. Teens believe homework, tests, group projects, chores, music lessons, and sports practices create exhaustion. But this isn’t true. Teens create exhaustion in their lives by the way they choose to think about the tasks on their calendar. It is ABSOLUTELY possible for your teenager to have the same result that I have. They can feel just as together on the first day of school as they can on the last day of school. The only thing that has to change is how they think.
Wishing you and your teen could harness the power of your brains to eliminate exhaustion?
I’d LOVE to show you how. Book a FREE coaching session NOW!
Photo by Sophie Elvis on Unsplash
