You cannot do it all.
You have to give yourself some grace as you do your work.
You cannot pour into others if your tank is empty.
Over and over again, I’ve found myself sharing these ideas with others this year. Maybe it’s not those exact words. But the message is the same. You can’t do everything. You cannot excel at every task you take on. You cannot expect perfection from yourself. To do your best work, you must step away from the work at some point.
The problem is that while I do a decent job of reminding others of these realities, I find that I’m much better at sharing that with other people than I am at actually following my own advice.
I want to do it all. I want it to be perfect. I want to accomplish it all without having to rest. And if I’m honest, I want it to look effortless.
But I can’t because it’s not.
So I’m trying to take my own advice tonight. I wanted to share it. We all need to hear this (I’m not the only one who needs this reminder, right?). Maybe not today, but file it away for a time where the stress is building, a deadline is approaching, where you can feel that you’re energy is dwindling. When that happens, remember…
You cannot do it all.
You have to give yourself some grace as you do your work.
You cannot pour into others if your tank is empty.