My friend is having a baby? Cool, I’ll plan the baby shower, be there when you deliver, babysit and teach him to read.
Coworker’s daughter is a Girl Scout? Awesome, I will single-handedly organize her cookie sale to make sure she sells the most in her troop this year!
These things are all well and good but the problem is, I start a lottttt of things and then I have a hard time letting myself quit them. That sounds weird, doesn’t it?
It seems like we’ve always been told that quitting is a bad thing.
Nowadays, it’s like you’re praised for however many things you can juggle at once and seen as lacking ambition if you’re not juggling enough.
You don’t have to cure cancer or start a mentorship program. No need to become an entrepreneur or run a marathon every month. It’s okay to just be.
This is something I’ve been working on because I never feel like I’m doing enough. Planning my friend’s baby shower makes me think about how many single moms are struggling. Buying cookies from a Girl Scout reminds me of my childhood and the things I wish someone had taught me back then.
Instead of just acknowledging these thoughts, I always feel compelled to take action. To make waves, spark change, kick off a whole damn movement. But here’s the thing: when you try to be everything for everyone else the person you end up giving the least to is yourself.
Many of us end up half-assing a bunch of things instead of committing to a few with everything we’ve got. So moving forward, I’m giving myself permission to quit sometimes. I’m giving myself permission to just be sometimes.
That doesn’t make me a bad daughter, sister or girlfriend, in fact, it makes me a better one. So if you have too much on your plate right now, give yourself permission to quit sometimes. Give yourself permission to just be.
It’s time to stop half-assing it and commit to a few things with everything you’ve got.
