When Times Are Tough, Forgive Yourself

I am exhausted. How are you feeling? The last few weeks have caught me off guard. Being out of my normal routine, I’m feeling a little sad and not myself. Honestly, it’s been tough to find a routine during a pandemic and moving halfway across the country this year. My family moved from Oklahoma to Virginia in April of this year. Yes, about a month after many people in the United States had begun to quarantine.

My glimmer of hope of recapturing a routine showed up a few weeks ago. A new weight bench. It was on backorder for almost three months. I enjoy working out with weights for the physical and mental health benefits. With the move and the COVID-19 virus, I had gotten away from it. I immediately assembled the bench. I was ready to start the next morning. I had a couple of great workouts the first week, but I was sore. I had pulled a muscle in my neck. I ended up taking a week off to let that heal. Then, the stress of the election started. I found myself stress eating and not working out. From election day on, I regularly refreshed my phone. I was hoping to see a change or a result, even if it was only 5 minutes later.

The results of the presidential election were announced yesterday. I knew this was going to be a stressful time. I also know that exercise is a good way to combat the dark hole I was creeping down. I should have known better than to allow myself to behave this way.

I decided to forgive myself for my behavior in the last couple of weeks. I accept that I am fallible and imperfect. I took a short walk and got my workout done. I am writing this now, still feeling the endorphin buzz from it.

This has made me very reflective. It takes a lot of courage to be vulnerable and show empathy. It also takes courage to forgive. I am very hard on myself and forgiveness does not come easy. I am much more forgiving of others, which seems funny.

I hope that you all find the courage to forgive yourself for neglecting practices that you know reduce stress. I also hope you find your way back to those activities soon, like I did today. Take care of yourself and be kind to others.