Life is too short to spend feeling sorry for these things.
Guilt trips aren’t the ones you will willingly want to take a ride in. suffice to say, it’s one burdensome travel to take on; trips that you really don’t need to take but you do because yes, you feel guilty about something — may that be a certain decision you made, a choice you did or a certain path you felt you need to resort to. Guilt makes you carry certain weights that you shouldn’t have bothered to pick up from the start.
Below are 5 of the most common things people feel guilty about and why WE HAVE TO STOP FEELING GUILTY ABOUT EACH ONE.
- TAKING BREAKS FROM WORK GUILT
Our work society has functioned within the limits set by the “work more, sleep less”boundary for quite some time we seem to forget the old saying all work and no play makes John dull. As a matter of fact, scientific evidence backs this maxim out — a number of studies over the recent years have proven that overworking makes a worker less productive but taking breaks and actually getting a good night’s sleep does the exact opposite!
So, don’t rush through your work breaks. Relish the time you can get away from your desk job and don’t spend these precious minutes eating lunch at your own table while looking at the clock from time to time to see if your break’s up. Make your breaks opportunities to breathe. Spend it at a park near your office building perhaps, take a short stroll or use it to lounge somewhere with a calming atmosphere. At the end, you’ll be surprised at how much work you can do even under pressure after these refreshing breaks. Additionally, get a good night’s rest.
That goes the same for your vacation, too. Don’t worry about the work you leave behind as you spend a few days sunning yourself somewhere! What’s the point of taking a few days off from work when it’s all you can think about during your time away?
- MOM GUILT
Being a mom’s putting a lot of strain in you lately? Found yourself sweating out over the decisions you make as a mother? Well, they shouldn’t be!
Don’t let the opinions, advice, stories and even criticisms of others, fellow mothers or not, bother you. Stop comparing your family to another. Every family is unique. What may work for another family will or will not work for you. Parenting is a constant testing ground and an endless learning experience. At the end of the day, parenthood – whether you’re a mother or a father – most always boils down to this question: is your whole family happy, well and healthy? If your answer is YES, then, you’re doing a great job!
- FALLING SHORT OF PERFECTION GUILT
Everybody makes mistakes. Erring is a human’s innate ability whether you want it or not. So, don’t be too hard on yourself and on others. Because if you expect perfection from yourself and the people around you, you’ll only end up feeling guilty and frustrated.
You have to remember this: make the little things count. You may not go to the gym everyday but you use the stairs in lieu of the elevator every time you go to work and that counts. So your partner may have forgotten your anniversary but he made it up with you later with a heartfelt apology and a rockin’ date and that counts, too. These things may not fit the “perfect” category but they make the best out of every situation and that’s what matters.
- CHEATING ON YOUR DIET GUILT
You can’t always expect yourself to be in sync with whatever healthy diet plan you follow every time. Cravings are always something you have to contend with. And when you do give in to these cravings from time to time, give yourself a break and don’t feel guilty afterwards.
Take into heart this food advice from Michael Pollan: Eat all the junk you want . . . as long as you make them yourself. This way, you can ditch the processed and get homemade decadence.
- BODY IMAGE GUILT
Your body does everything for you. It gets you to work, does the whole menial and the not-so-menial tasks, carries whatever it is that needs carrying and after you’ve gone to bed, still works overtime to keep you going even in your sleep. And what do you do in exchange? Look in the mirror and cringe over every flaw you see? Well, that’s some thank you.
Instead of being over-critical over your physical appearance and how your body’s not in par with what you see in some pages of a glossy mag, you’ve got to take care of your body! It’s the only one you have. And those slim or rock hard silhouettes you often see sported in TV and print? They adhere to a standard set about [at times impossibly!] by a minority. Some aren’t even real anyway; they’re touched-up. Now is the time to embrace beauty in all forms.
