When Life Feels Like a Giant Game of Whack-a-Mole… 🎯😵💫
You ever have one of those weeks (or months?) where you feel like a human tornado, spinning out of control while simultaneously playing an impossible game of Whack-a-Mole in the control room of your life?
👋 Hi, that’s been me lately. And fun fact? That "Inside-Out" kind of imagery actually came up in my last IFS therapy session… and wow, was it eye-opening.
Between changing sports seasons, shifting schedules (and inputting said schedules into our calendars—goodbye, 45 minutes), new gear (So. Much. Gear!), and then... oh yea... just the general movements of life, relationships, and career, I caught myself in full-blown overload. No time to pause. No time to breathe. It was the time to just push through - to numb out and turn off the world so nothing fell apart.
And obviously… it sucked.
I didn’t just need an extra set of hands to whack some moles with me—I needed several of the machines removed altogether. Because this kind of existence, where everything feels urgent and the task list impossible and never-ending, isn’t sustainable. It's also not soft, loving, connecting, or enjoyable.
I’ve been slowly re-examining what success means to me over the last 5-10 years and my definition is changing a lot. (More on that another time).
So… I’m taking a break.
Not forever. Not from everything. But enough of a pause to recalibrate, breathe, and remember that I get to decide how much I take on.
That’s the thing, right? When life gets busy, we think we have no choice but to push through. But what if the answer isn’t more effort—what if it’s less?
Taking my own advice, I'm pulling out of things little by little and in fact, declined an in-person meeting just two hours before it started—because, honestly, life is full, and I could see even more coming. At first I felt guilty not showing up to something I committed to but I knew I just needed to pull back. And you know what the magical recipient of my message replied?
"No worries, Abbey! Preventing burnout is the name of the game these days, so I totally get it."
That response was a gift. A reminder that honoring my energy isn’t just okay—it’s necessary. And knowing we can support each other in that? That's everything.
If you’ve been feeling the same—like you’re running but not really getting anywhere—consider this your permission slip:
✨ Take the break. Even if it’s just five minutes.
✨ Tell someone “no.” Even if it means next week.
✨ Step outside. Even if it’s just around the block.
Because rest isn’t a luxury—it’s fuel. And I, for one, refuse to keep running on empty.
I love helping the people around me live their most incredible, fulfilling lives- but not at the expense of my own. I can't sustain that level of support without taking care of myself too. Because let's be real - when I'm running on empty, my support isn't deep and loving... it's just getting through it all. And that's not the kind of presence I want to bring to the people I care about.
And, spoiler alert - once I started letting some sh*t go, I found myself with more energy, more presence, and more levity. And go figure, I’m probably even more productive.
Sending you love and encouragement to check in with yourself today…
xoxo
Abbey