Our bodies are wise

I always try to be the best that I can that I can be. I strive to get all my work done as well and as soon as I can and to be productive as possible. As well as striving for productivity, I also try very hard to not let my emotions or problems control me and get in the way of me doing what I want.

They’re great things to strive for and I wouldn’t want to be any other way but sometimes it can lead to me not listening to myself. There will be times where it’s late at night and I’m trying to get this one last bit of work done but my body is aching for sleep. It will seem like everything is fine, but I’m fighting back the tears welling in my eyes because I don’t see any reason I have to cry. I agree to a day out in town with my friend because it’s good to be social but really, I know that all I want is a day lazing around the house.

I’m realising that I often get too caught up in listening to my mind and what’s logical and “the right thing to do” and I think that I don’t need to listen to my body. But the body is wise. If your body is dying for sleep, it’s because that’s what it needs. There’s nothing wrong with crying “for no reason” because your body wanting to cry and release emotions is reason enough. As much as you love spending time with your friend and hate feeling unproductive, if you feel like you need a day to sit on the couch, in a mountain of blankets and pillows, that’s your body telling you to do so.

I feel happier and more productive hen I wake up earlier; so for the past few weeks I’ve been waking up fifteen minutes earlier than normal and that’s great. But this weekend I was out late and got barely any sleep so on Monday morning, I was in no state to wake up early. I did anyway, because I didn’t want to feel lazy or like I had failed. For the rest of the day I was exhausted and moody and I couldn’t concentrate. Tuesday morning came along and I hear my alarm and I can tell I’m still in no state to be up this early, so I finally decide to listen to my body and gave myself another fifteen minutes  in bed. I still woke up early enough to get myself ready for school in good time but I was much more awake and much happier than I had been on Monday. So that’s what I did for the rest of the week, I listened to myself and let myself sleep for those extra few minutes and pushed aside any guilt I felt.

While it’s all well and good striving to be the best version of ourselves, our bodies know what we need and what’s good for us. It’s okay to give in to ourselves even if it feels like there are better things we could be doing, more productive things. The body is wise and it’s good to learn that we should listen to it.

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