It’s okay to take a break

[00:00:00] **Aurooba Ahmed:** Well, hello! This is The Daily Five with Aurooba, that's me, where we reflect on creating our best lives a little bit every day. Here we go.

[00:00:15] The other day, I was really tired. Things had been going wrong all day, maybe all week. I was frustrated. I had no tolerance left in certain areas. And when you have a day like that, or a few days like that, doing the regular everyday stuff is hard enough. Doing anything extra that isn't required, isn't a habit, isn't a normal part of your day to day, well, frankly, that can feel insurmountable.

[00:00:49] How on earth was I going to sit there and record an episode of The Daily Five? Sometimes The Daily Five is a bit like a pep talk. Well, I myself was in need of a pep talk and in no shape or form to record one for others.

[00:01:07] So, I took a break. I didn't record at the top of the morning. I didn't think about it at all. I had dinner at five and went to bed at six. And that was absolutely the right call. That was self care, in the true sense of the word. Not, you know, vegging out in front of a TV. When everything is going wrong and you don't feel like a great version of yourself, you take a break. You even go ahead and break the chain if you need to.

[00:01:38] But, here's the funny thing. At 8:30pm, after having slept for a couple hours and having given myself true permission to not do The Daily Five that day, my eyes opened. I glanced at the time, took a deep breath, pushed away the covers, and went downstairs to record The Daily Five.

[00:02:00] I had absolutely given myself full permission to break the chain. Go a whole day without having an episode out there. I'd probably get a few emails and perhaps a couple messages on social media. But it wasn't going to be anything wild. But, sometimes a bit of food, a touch of sleep, and a little self forgiveness is all you need to be able to feel at least a little bit okay again.

[00:02:30] I did not stare at the empty page for long that day. I can't say that that day's episode was the most amazing thing or anything, but it wasn't bad either. We're often harder on ourselves than we think we are, and rigid things, they snap. A little softness and flexibility can go a long way in helping us achieve our goals.

[00:02:52] A little break, a little breathing space. 5 minutes of box breathing, or, you know, 5 minutes of throwing plush toys incredibly hard at a wall, that's a Grey's Anatomy reference by the way, or just a little food and sleep, and you may not feel as right as rain, but maybe right enough to be able to keep doing the things you told yourself you wanted to do.

[00:03:19] Like, for example, sitting there. at 8:30pm, recording The Daily Five, because that is what you have committed yourself to. And then you feel pretty good. You gave yourself space, you did the thing anyway, when you felt okay, and then you go on practicing the whole thing of self care and taking care of yourself and, you know, day by day, doing the thing.

[00:03:54] Thanks for listening. Same time tomorrow?