Photography by Melita Kyle.
Melita is a married, creative mum of two. She describes herself as, ‘a newcomer in the arena of writing as I evolve my own unique photography style’.
Melita has always had an interest in how to gain balance in this fast-paced world with an emphasis on creativity.
She says, ‘As a child I was always curious about nature, animals and people. I would often touch textures and objects, and would never cease to ask questions. I’m a seeker, forager and gatherer of the sensory world around us, capturing moods and moments through the lens and the written word’.
Over to Melita…
Overload. It’s a word that often creeps up on the front of a magazine or blog post and social media. So what is meant by the term ‘overload’? Whilst we all know not to overload our washing machine, for example, are we as adept when it comes to our wellbeing? Unlike the washer/dryer, we’re not always aware of our own red flashing warning light when we feel overworked and overtired.
‘Nope sorry you’ve overloaded me too much today, this week, this month, this year, I’m just going to stop now’.
Sadly we rarely know when to stop. To question why we’re running our lives at such great speed. We assume that busy is best. If we’re not in the fast lane, we have nothing to gain.
We feel worthless or left behind. That we can’t keep up. We worry we might miss out on the latest trend or topic, that we might not be relevant or valued.
I believe we do in fact have that stop button- and this is how it works.
Our days are so often a whirlwind of sensory chaos both audio and visual.
The school run, teachers, traffic, the radio, our colleagues and bosses, deadlines, the food shop, dinner prep, emails and more we keep pushing through it all like a herd of super mum beasts until that flashing warning light rears its ugly head.
First, it starts with a sniffle, maybe a headache. So we pop a few paracetamol and drink a litre of water reassuring ourselves, ‘I’m not too bad, let’s keep going’. The warning light then becomes more insistent. The sniffle turns into a sneezing fit and perhaps a high temperature, the headache morphs into a migraine and before you know your health has declined to the point that you’re forced to physically stop.
We live in a culture of overload. An overload of information, of choices and opportunities. We’re all incredibly busy trying to balance life: kids, parents, work, relationships, education, exercise, our mental health and more…
We must take quarterly MOT checks to ensure, like our cars (and washing machines) that we’re safe and running at our optimum.
We need to spend more time quietly listening to our bodies, checking whether we feel OK and if not, finding out what’s wrong, and how we can recover.
Maybe those headaches are due to bad posture, meaning we need re-alignment, or perhaps an eye test. Maybe our jeans are starting to feel a little tight so we need to review our eating habits and tweak them.
All these things are common sense of course yet we’ve somehow lost the ability and confidence to look after ourselves in the speediness we live our lives.
So give yourself permission to do just that. To believe that you matter and don’t feel guilty about doing so.
And please stop comparing your life to others.
Everyone has their ‘front face’ and as the saying goes, ‘People you meet daily are facing a battle you know nothing about. Be kind, always’.
Work within the perimeters of your health, and your energy reserves. Some of us have bags of energy, others do not. Accept this. It’s factual. There isn’t a one size fits all here. Listen, observe and reload, don’t overload, making self-love and self-care your top priority.
Where you can find Melita online:
Buy my bestselling book in paperback or audio
My debut book is my guide to surviving and thriving at work and at home and offers insight into how to create a digital business or return to work with confidence.
Mumboss: The Honest Mum's Guide to Surviving and Thriving at Work and at Home
(UK 2nd Edition)
Available on Amazon or Audible
The Working Mom: Your Guide to Surviving and Thriving at Work and at Home
(US/Canada Edition)
Available September 8th 2020. Order now on Amazon
