Taking my own advice

I remember telling someone a week ago to be kind to themself (is that really a word?) and remember to give themself (I don’t really think it’s a word, but what is the correct reflective pronoun to use?!!) grace. A friend who had recently been thru some tough stuff was having a bad day and was getting outwardly frustrated.

Let me start by saying that 1) It is totally okay to be frustrated. and 2) A bad day when you are already sad is pretty crappy. But I hated to see her take on responsibility for what was going on around her instead of letting her well being be the priority in that situation.

I realized this morning that when my week got tough last week, I forgot that very advice that I had given to a friend. Instead, I let the frenzy of a sick dog and meetings take priority over me taking care of myself. And when I reflected a bit on why, I realized that I would rather deal with the consequences of letting myself down than those of letting someone else down. But am I really being the best at my job or at helping a friend or at being a mom to my fur-kid if I am not doing the things that are life-giving to me like running, biking and swimming?!

My coach told me a long time ago, long before he was my coach, to let training be the constant in my life. He said that when the going got tough, to count on the ritual of the workout to provide a sense of normalcy.

So here’s to getting back at it and listening to my own advice.