Smaller Plates

I’m imagining a large plate of food piled high and spilling over the edges.

There’s no way you can eat it all. You feel bad letting it go to waste, but the plate is overflowing with food. There’s just too much.

Maybe you eat what you can and then walk away.

Sometimes, my life is overflowing with tasks, and there’s no way to get to them all. I try to prioritize the tasks, just like I might try to eat the healthiest or most delicious food first.

I make progress. But I never get all of the tasks off my plate.

In this situation, I find it difficult to justify doing something extra, just for the fun of it. Yet, that’s exactly what often helps me feel less overwhelmed.

Humans are meant to play. Having fun is vital to our well-being.

For this reason, we must prioritize time to play, just as we should prioritize time to exercise.

Is it possible to eliminate enough tasks that they might fit on a smaller plate? Sometimes, this is possible. Sometimes, we can arrange our days so that they have room to breathe.

While we should strive to use smaller plates, we should also cultivate the skill of being connected to ourselves and good to ourselves when our plates happen to be overflowing.