No Guilt This Time
February 22nd, 2010 | 
Author: 2/22/10
Post by Kim Gibbs
The Missoula Businesswomen’s Network held their Annual Women’s Symposium last Saturday and I was honored to be one of the breakout speakers. My topic naturally, was how to leave your guilt in the dust. For weeks I felt like an Olympic athlete, practicing and training so I would peak as a speaker at this event.
I had a ball during my session, talking and laughing with the women in attendance about the embarrassing things we’ve done in our lives and how we’ve overcome our guilt.
Of course I was all nerved up from the moment I woke up that morning until long after I went to bed that night. Needless to say, when the next day rolled around I felt groggy, tired, and totally unmotivated to do anything. So I didn’t.
Ordinarily, I would have been disgusted with myself and felt guilty for lazing so much of the day away. But not this time. I had worked hard and put a ton of mental and physical effort into my presentation. I was weary and I had every right to do nothing but rest. Guilt-free. So I did.
It’s exactly what I needed in order to recover. So please be good to yourself and know that it’s OK to take a guilt-free break when you’re tired. Quit trying to be Wonder Woman all the time and allow yourself to be Real Woman, orneriness and hormones included!
Posted in 
Tags:
Kim,
Good for you that you recognized the need for a period of recovery after your exertion of energy of preparing and presenting your emotional program at the Women’s Symposium. One of the first things I learned in therapy twenty years ago when I was learning to live with a brain injury was the need to PLAN for a period of recovery after a period of exertion. It has become second nature for me because it is an absolute necessity. Low energy ripples into a lower ability to function which creates safety hazards for me. Poor focus affects my attention span. Slower reflexes affects my ability to react quickly. Both cause me to make critical mistakes in tasks like cooking and driving. Low energy affects my mood and makes me vulnerable to low emotions like depression. One of the blessings of my brain injury is that I regularly schedule a recovery time and never feel guilty doing so, because I recogize the value and know it’s what I need to do. On the contrary, when I skip my planned recovery period, knowing the risk I’m taking, and pay a heavy price for it later, that’s when I feel guilty for neglecting my best interest.
It’s funny how the better care we take of ourselves, the fewer reasons we have to feel guilty. Now just make sure you don’t feel guilty for taking time to take care of you!