Put Down the Weight

I never saw it coming. There I was, participating in workshops for a UK client way back in 2018, designing complex solutions, juggling all the moving parts. Not my first though – I'd handled tougher projects before.

But one evening, sitting at the dinner table with my visiting parents, something broke. The tears came without warning. Years of self-imposed expectations had finally caught up with me.

It wasn't the project that was too heavy. It was everything I'd been carrying silently for years.

That breakdown became my breakthrough. Here's what I've learned about protecting your mental peace in a world that constantly demands more:

• Listen without rushing to fix yourself When I finally spoke about my struggles. People around me listened. No solutions. No "but you're doing so well!" Just presence. I now give myself that same gift – permission to feel without immediately problem-solving.
• Drop the self-judgment I'd convinced myself that struggling meant failing. Now I understand that vulnerability is not weakness – it's being human in a world that often expects machines.
• Accept that not every feeling needs a reason "But your career is going well! Your family is healthy! Why are you stressed?" Sometimes there is no logical explanation. Our minds aren't some programs which we have coded
• Choose your words carefully, especially to yourself The voice in my head during that project was brutal. I'd never speak to a colleague or friend that way. Now I catch myself when that inner critic starts up.
• Accept yourself where you are The standards I was measuring myself against weren't even real. They were distorted versions of success I'd absorbed from social media, peers, and corporate culture.
• Shield yourself from external noise I've learned to set boundaries with even well-meaning advice. Not everyone deserves access to your mental space.

The corporate world celebrates those who carry impossible loads without complaint!! But real strength? It's knowing when to put the weight down.