Check Your Battery

When my son left for college, he left behind a beautiful desk he built tucked into the corner of his room. And what does any good mom do? She takes it over and makes it her very own charging station.  Because honestly, I don’t know about you, but there never seems to be enough power strips and charging cords for all the gadgets that need to be recharged. And that got me thinking… what do we do when our battery hits the red zone—below that 10% mark?

I’ll admit, I haven’t always been great at recharging myself. But I’m trying to make a more intentional effort. Recently, I picked up a copy of Time for Me by Helene Lerner, and one quote in particular stuck with me:

“We believe stress is a normal part of everyday life. But the truth is, we are stressed because we are ‘stressable.’ It’s not the situations in our lives that cause stress but our reactions to them.”

Wow, right?

So often, we drain ourselves trying to control things that are way outside our circle of control. But the only thing we do have absolute control over is our reaction. And that reaction? It matters—a lot. Especially to our mental health.  I always remind my clients: you don’t have to wait for a vacation to recharge. You don’t need hours. You just need a moment.

Don’t have time? Let me ask you this:

Do you have 5 minutes?

Do you have 2 minutes to step outside and feel the sun on your skin?

Then that’s 2 minutes more than you did yesterday.

Recharging doesn’t have to be complicated. It could be listening to one song. Reading one chapter of a book. Watching those 10 reels your besties sent that you still haven’t looked at. Grab a Sonic drink. Take a walk around the block. Breathe.  Just do something.  Your battery will thank you.