Last week I was at an event where the hosts asked us to share a bit about someone who influenced us this year and why. The person I shared was someone who inspired me to “close some tabs.”
A few months ago, Leah Neaderthal vulnerably shared on LinkedIn about the burnout she’d been feeling, and used the analogy of “closing tabs.”
That analogy stuck with me, as I had a lot on my plate at the time. Some work, mostly personal. I’ve shared the analogy (with credit to Leah) with many people, including the women at the event last week.
Perhaps this is front-of-mind for me as I keep saying to my husband that I feel overwhelmed right now.
We shouldn’t need permission to close tabs. But for us highly-accountable overachievers, it can take someone else telling us that it’s ok to say no, or to say “not right now.” Leah’s post gave me that permission to close some tabs for a bit.
Some I’ve reopened as my capacity to manage them allowed, and there are some new ones that I thought I could manage that I’ve set aside for a while. And now I’m re-evaluating what tabs to close.
At this time of year, it’s easy to say yes to too much, to open too many tabs. Whether it’s high accountability or FOMO or true enthusiasm or expectations we put on ourselves, we can find our #wellbeing and #mentalhealth taking a hit when we just try to do too much.
Sometimes #resiliency and wellbeing means saying no. If something comes up that you’re tempted to say yes to, ask yourself “If I say yes to this, and want to be kind to myself, what do I need to say no to?”
As we head into these last few weeks of the year, I invite you to consider Leah’s analogy and ask if there are tabs you can close, or maybe not open right now, to be most present with the people and situations that mean the most to you.
As for me, after decades of never missing a year of sending holiday cards, I just don’t have it in me to send them this year. I’ve closed that tab as I’d rather spend time with my family, friends, and my business. Maybe I’ll send out New Year’s cards. Maybe not. #sorrynotsorry
And I may close some other tabs too.
What tabs will you close to give yourself some grace and space at the end of the year?
Be well.
Recent Comments