I talk a lot about downtime (in fact I’m developing a course on creating more of it!) and its importance for introverts. But I’m reminded this week that it’s ok to occasionally push yourself and get less downtime than you’d like. Making an exception about your downtime doesn’t have to equal shame or guilt.
While I advocate for introverts to just say no to a party they don’t want to attend, sometimes it just makes sense for a career, a friendship, etc., to go even though they’d like that downtime instead. Sometimes it just makes sense to not get as much downtime as you’d like for the sake of a larger goal. The key is balance and understanding what’s important enough to compromise on.
Where’s your imbalance right now? If you have a habit of pushing yourself too hard you need to ease up and get some downtime. You have only one body and one mind. You do not want a nervous breakdown. If you normally take care of your energy reserves but find yourself with an almost-realized goal with a looming deadline, then let yourself make an exception without guilt or shame and get less downtime than normal.
What goal do you have right now? Which actions require firmness to achieve that goal, and which actions can you compromise on? Where does self-care fit into that goal?
Understanding yourself and how to create your version of balance is hard, like pretty much everything else in life. But, we shouldn’t let that stop us from trying.
