Ok, so 6 p.m. rolls around. Andy and I start to turn off our workday and shift to family time. We start dinner, we have dinner and we clean up after dinner. We've gotten pretty good at the process. So now it's around 7 p.m. and we are pooped. We are honestly pooped. But the kids are ready for us to go full-force at playing and entertaining them. It's hard.
All of this has really put a lot of things in perspective. If anything good comes out of this international pandemic, it is that it gives me a reset to really focus on the things that matter.
Health
If this wasn't a priority before it certainly is a priority now. Obviously I want to keep the kids away from any potential sickness but it goes a bit further. Staying active and eating healthy have stepped up in importance. I've continued to instruct Dance Fitness classes virtually. The amount of times per week has varied based on my work schedule. 3-5 times a week. Giuseppe has been lifting and attending football and baseball meetings. We try to get the boys out for bike rides, walks, basketball, baseball, etc. Andy led us all on a hike a few weeks back. Even though the weather isn't ideal, we are hopeful to open our pool by the end of the month.
What I don't have time for toxic people or situations
Life is too short and my overall well-being is key to the happiness of myself, my children and my marriage. I've made the mistake of letting people in my life that aren't a good match for me and my overall outlook in life. Sometimes it takes longer to remove them simply because I give them the benefit of the doubt more often than I should. The good news is that going forward I have everything in place to lead a happy, fulfilling life. Family, Marriage, Health, Fitness, Work, etc. I need to live by the words I say all the time... "So, what? What's the worst thing that's going to happen?"
The thing about that saying is much deeper than just saying "So What?"
Really breakdown the consequences of the decision. Are you in a toxic work environment? So what if you quit? So what? Really break it down to the worst case scenario. You quit, you can't find another comparable salary for six months, you have to downgrade a few things in the your life to survive, you get a smaller home, you sell a car or two, you quit saving, your kids despise you for leaving your job, your marriage can't handle the stress, etc.
Ok, now that you are truly down in the dirt and life seems awful, bring yourself back up.
- I have have 25 years of work experience and two college degrees, someone somewhere will find that valuable.
- My marriage has been put through the test many times before and we were strong enough to make it out of it.
- My kids aren't assholes and if they are I will need to revisit some major parenting tactics that I failed on.
- There is no shame in having a smaller home. I'm not living to keep up with the Jones.
- Cars come and go and haven't made a big enough impact in my life to care if we have to sell one of two.
- Andy and I have been extremely aggressive savers, so on these rainy days we will get through it.
Bottom line, I didn't die so I can come out of it. Maybe at a different level but I will come out of it. (Worth mentioning, if the worst consequence is highly likely that someone dies, then it is not worth pursuing. Like trying an experimental drug or being an inexperienced NASCAR racer.)
Give it a try. It's works. So what if I never do XXX again? It's a little scary, but nothing is worse than staying in a toxic situation. You're worth more than that.
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