The world is a lot right now
and you don't have to pretend you're okay
I had a whole essay planned for this week, and then the world happened. gestures widely
So, I’m posting this on a Tuesday evening instead of Wednesday morning. I just felt like sharing how I’m feeling right now. I didn’t want to wait. I wanted you to feel seen and supported in this moment.
What’s happening in the U.S. and the world right now isn’t normal. Yet here we are, ants marching, acting like everything’s fine. We’ve got KPIs to meet, after all, right? Right. 🙄
Last night, as I was trying to finish an outline for my original topic, I kept wondering why I couldn't focus—and then it hit me. My mind was simply exhausted. I'd been pushing aside everything happening out there in the world, the news, the constant hum of it all in the back of my mind, just so I could tackle what I had planned. And I was struggle-ING.
As I wrote in my first essay, I’ve been learning to pay more attention to what my body and mind actually need. And that’s exactly why I felt stuck! Because ignoring how I felt wasn’t working anymore. For real though, I’m not a robot that can simply sit down and crank out work while the world is in turmoil, and I imagine you feel the same way. Yet the pressure to perform at work, be there for others, and tend to everything else that needs our attention, has a way of drowning out the very human fact that we have feelings too. Feelings that don’t stop just because life keeps moving. And all too often we fall into the trap of just pushing through.
“I’ll finish this outline tonight anyway and go to bed early tomorrow.”
“I’ll crank out this strategy brief because earlier this week I said I would. Maybe next time I’ll ask for an extension.”
Sound familiar?
I know most of us can’t just stop. Life keeps moving whether we’re ready or not, I get that. But I think we can all agree that some days we’re running on fumes, while other days it feels a hell of a lot more manageable. Our best can look completely different from one day to the next.
For me, today, my “best” means crossing a few things off my work to-do list without worrying about them being perfect. I’m going to submit things as they are and spend time editing later. I’ll also make an effort to move my body—not necessarily the intense 1.5 hour strength workout I planned—but just enough movement, like a yoga flow class, to feel more grounded and present so I can just get out of my head already.
Dinner might not be the super healthy meal I planned to make either, but that’s what the frozen food in the freezer is for: busy nights. And in this case, busy minds. Both count.
And as for this essay, it’s not what I originally planned. It’s more of a journal entry you’re seeing in your inbox, sent a little earlier than usual.
And you know what? That’s completely okay.
While you’re here... know that your feelings about the state of the world aren’t a distraction from your goals, work, or personal life. They’re proof that you’re paying attention. And right now, you’re allowed to not be okay. You can just be a person who’s tired.
All of it is enough.
–Natalie
