I need a break.
You’ve been my guide through various avenues: life’s lessons, mentors, books, philosophers…
Remembering my learning journey, some sentences come to mind:
“The system is responsible in proportion to the degree that the people who make the decisions bear the consequences” – Charlie Frankel.
“Courage is the ladder on which all the other virtues mount” – Clare Boothe.
“If your ship doesn’t come, swim out to meet it” – Jonathan Winters
I deeply appreciate all the lessons you’ve provided. I’ve been, and continue to be, a highly committed student.
But lately, I’ve been feeling overwhelmed by the weight of responsibility that I’ve been carrying. While I understand the importance of fulfilling my duties and obligations, I’ve reached a point where I feel the need to take a break from you.
It’s not easy for me to ask you for this break. I have thought long and hard about it, and I believe that taking a temporary break will allow me to recharge, regain perspective, and come back with renewed energy and commitment.
During this break, I am fully committed to ensuring a smooth transition and minimizing any disruption that my absence may cause.
I believe this break will benefit not only myself but also the quality of relationship with loved ones in the long run.
Babi
xxxx
A question that I started asking myself lately. Am I too responsible?
This article from HBR talks about over-responsibility.
Over-responsibility can be a hard habit to break. Helping others makes us feel good: We feel competent, reduce our stress, and avoid conflict. This habit also gets reinforced by those around you, who learn to depend on you. But don’t wait until you feel burned out and resentful.
The author, Dina Denham Smith, an executive coach to senior leaders at world-leading brands such as Adobe, Netflix, PwC, Dropbox, Stripe, suggests the following strategies to find a more appropriate balance of responsibility:
- Examine your assumptions
- Give responsibilities back
- Define what you’re truly responsible for
- Accept help, Empathise — without taking on others’ distress
- Be-self compassionate