110%

Giddy up!

The early bird gets the worm, right?

I have spent the better part of my adult life running: not always literally (although I’ve run a few marathons in the past decade), but metaphorically as well.

Go hard or go home.

Set goals. Meet them. Exceed them. Push harder. Expect nothing less than the best.

I have incorporated this mantra into my way of life to the extent that one of my kids actually has a tatoo expressing “nothing less than 110%”.

Keep in mind I am not an Olympic athlete, nor a world leader.

I am just me.

Just me being: a wife, mom, lawyer, runner, writer, daughter, sister, friend, colleague, mentor, neighbour, hiker, yogi-in-training, not quite master swimmer, wanna-be blogger…

Hmmm. Just me actually wears quite a few hats.

No wonder I feel a little tired.

Giving your all is laudable. It’s also exhausting. And definitely not sustainable in the long term.

Sometimes, 50% is all we have to give, because the tank is low, the tire is flat and the axel is a little off kilter.

Rest, Refuel, Reboot.

While I have learned this lesson over and over again through physical injuries (often brought on by overtraining or pushing past my breaking point) and I have tried (yes, it’s a work in progress) to respect my body and let it heal – transposing this mindset to the psychological realm has been a more difficult pill to swallow.

Up until now, I have never allowed myself or forgiven myself for not going above and beyond – or giving what I perceived as my all.

What I am slowly (think tortoise, people) realising is that sometimes my all is way below 100%. And that’s ok.

Well, it should be ok.

It’s not easy being your own toughest critic.

Being the best that you can be and doing hard things takes perspective and energy. If you don’t give yourself time to gather your strength, thoughts, courage and judgement, you all will always fall short.

Don’t shortchange yourself – allow yourself to be the best version of you – by accepting that we can’t be a superhero all the time.

While charging full speed ahead, we may very well miss a life changing moment – an opportunity to learn and grow. Sometimes we just need to pull in the reins and take stock.

I will always be a believer in giving my all – it’s part of who I am – I just now realise that my best may vary depending on timing and circumstances. Sometimes the stars are aligned. Sometimes they are not.

Sometimes being just me is more than enough.

* 1st photo taken at Queen’s Park in Toronto, Ontairo by Ruth Arless-Frandsen; 2nd photo taken at a Ogunquit Beauch, Maine by Olivia Tardif