by Sheristen McCullah
When I was in middle school I used to stuff my bra. I’d cram scratchy brown paper towels from the school bathroom or bouncy water balloons from my kitchen (the tied ends facing outward strategically) between my woefully flat chest and a soft, rectangle stretch of cotton Hanes fabric.
As a preteen, who I needed to be was often conflated with what everyone around me had. I tried forcing my body to behave like other bodies, and while that’s really funny at thirteen, it’s pretty tragic at thirty-something. I stuffed my bra at thirteen because I was afraid of looking ugly. Now I stuff my calendar with work and chores and networking events because I’m afraid of looking lazy.
When my body demands rest I feel guilty sitting down. Instead, I nurse my fatigue with caffeine and keep pushing. We all do. So I’m offering myself a challenge this week that I’d like to extend to you.
When you feel guilty about hitting your max capacity, ask yourself two questions:
- What is my capacity threshold? Being at your maximum capacity implies that there is no more that you can hold, contain, process, perform — [insert your relevant verb here] — without causing harm.
- Am I honoring my capacity? When someone can [insert verb here] and still has energy leftover, then they’re functioning within their capacity. If they run out of energy but keep going because [insert verb] demands it, then their work-life is not aligned with their capacity.
When equipment overloads its capacity it fails. When humans do it, we get told to “lock in” — and that may work for a while… until it doesn’t.
Be kind with yourself. Honor your max capacity, because sitting still for that moment — taking time for yourself — allows you to pour into your work better, more efficiently, and effectively.
