“You pay for stress all the same way, no matter how good the reasons.” ~ unknown
I’ve been a massage therapist for 25 years and I see stress up close every day in the work I do with my clients. Stress is something we all experience, some days or weeks more than others and it’s called “Life.”
Here’s where my issue comes in with stress and women (sorry guys this is all about the ladies) is when I hear a woman that is “proud” of how stressed she is, saying things like “See I knew my shoulders were so tight, didn’t I tell you!” or “I knew I had all of these knots that I can’t get rid of and I don’t have time to take care of myself.”
The response I feel these women want is, “Good girl, I’m so proud of you for carrying that stress around like a real trooper and I want you to continue piling it on because it will prove you are a really tough girl!”
Society teaches us, as women, that we should “put on our big girl pants” and take everything on ourselves while the rest of the world marvels at our tenacity. That mindset translates into a warped sense of a job well done, a job that will kill us if we don’t stop holding it up as a badge of honor!
So how do you stop?
Start by listening to your words around stress, listen to your girlfriends’ words around their stress, remind yourself and them that “doing it all” is not a worthy merit badge to work toward nor to brag about.
Ease up, (I promise the world won’t stop revolving), take a little time to reflect on why you think you need that badge of honor. Is it guilt? Or a sense of duty? Or is it the way things have always been and the fear of change is standing in the way?
Taking time out for YOU is a much better badge of honor to earn and by working toward that badge, you are also teaching each of us that it’s okay to have that time.
PLEASE, we need the power and beautiful energy of women now, more than ever before. The more you take care of yourself and diffuse the stress, the more your light shines brightly on Mother Earth.
And that can heal a lot more than just tight shoulders!
Peace and Love to you all!