by Joy Loverde
Sometimes (most times) we are the last one to know if life is out of balance. We are in so deep (like the goldfish in the photo) that we have no clue where we are deep in the scheme of things.
Everybody – at home and at work -- tugs at our sleeve. They need. They ask. We give. We do. The phone rings, we pick it up without thinking. Somebody asks us to do something else, and we say “yes” as if we are on auto-pilot.
Enough already.
Grab yourself a blank piece of paper. Identify one person in your life who is making a lot of demands on you: parent; partner; friend; child; co-worker; and anybody else.
With pencil in hand, write the name of the person at the top of the page. Directly under that person’s name draw a line that divides the piece of paper into two columns. Label one column, “For him/her (name). Label the other column, “For me.”
For the next two weeks keep a running list of all of the things you do for him/her and the things you do for yourself. For example, if you took Mom grocery shopping put the activity in her column. If you went to the gym, or took a walk to clear your head, record that in your column.
At the end of the two weeks, count the number of items in each column. Are you out of balance? Check out the “Be Kind to Yourself” tips in The Complete Eldercare Planner. You owe it to yourself.
Until next time.
