This post is more of an FYI than anything else. I’m hanging on, grimly, until the final audit of the year is over on Wednesday evening. I fully expect to collapse at that point and I’m working from home on Thursday/Friday so absolute basics only.
It struck me then that my absolute basics has changed over time. These days, food, shower, clean clothes are the absolute basics. Almost everything else can wait a day or two (And if I’m honest, shower and clean clothes can be pushed out for a day as well in emergencies).
But anything more than a day or two? Movement, meditation, connection with people all come into it. I’m an introvert, in that I gain energy from being alone primarily, but I still need solid connection with people on a regular basis as well. Even if it’s a random WhatsApp message or Facebook like or something – anything more than a day or two with zero contact whatsoever, and I start to feel the effects.
Of course, there are people I’d be perfectly happy never to hear from again, but those sods rarely live up to expectations.
We can survive almost anything life throws at us with the right support systems, in the general run of things, but we need to recognise what those support systems are and how long we can survive without them. So if one friend is busy or otherwise engaged for a few weeks or months, I’m ok. If ALL my friends were busy or otherwise engaged for a few weeks or months – I’m going to suffer.
If you’re not hanging on by the skin of your teeth, now might be a good idea to have a look at what support systems you have, what are absolutely vital and essential, which ones have a bit of redundancy built in (redundancy in the engineering sense here, whereby if one bit fails, it’s ok, there’s another bit to pick up the pieces), where you feel exposed, where you feel comfortable.
And then see if you need to change any of that.
Because, we all have work to do and it’s a damn sight easier when those support systems are there when needed, rather than frantically trying to build them in an emergency.
