When is Enough, Enough?

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As a woman I find myself asking more and more: 

When is Enough, Enough?

Today is one of those days where I want to scream out loud....ENOUGH!! Not to anyone I know, not to any single person or any group or association but to myself. To wake myself up, to slap myself around and to just tell myself to let it all go. 

As a stay at home mum I find I often feel dissatisfied with what I have accomplished during my day as there is always so much more to do. At the end of each day my to do list seems never ending: the housework, the homework, the washing, the bills, the emails, the sorting, the de-cluttering, the affection, the attention, the school notes and the gardening are all tasks that never seem to end.

I fall into bed asking myself if I did enough during my day. 

I spend my days rushing from one event or one experience to another hoping I have everything we need, hoping that my cherubs know that we love them and hoping that I have done enough around my house to keep it in order through the whole process.

When I leave the house I ask myself if I have done enough to be able to relax and enjoy where I am going.

I work hard and through it all hope that my cherubs feel that I am pulling off this parenting gig in a good way. I have days where I feel worn out. Downright tired even. I get to the stage where I can't go any further, I can't do one more task no matter how much I push myself and I know it is time to rest and to listen to my body.

I feel exhausted but still ask myself if I have done enough.

There is always so much happening in our house and I try to keep up with it all the best I can. Just like any other woman or mother would do who has a family or who works or does both. I try to run an organised home and battle with the pressure I place upon myself.

I start to see that you can never do enough. 

I start to question my version or vision of ideal. I have become so busy that I no longer determine when the time has come to stop, to rest and to let the to do list go. I shift my focus and determine my own self acceptance of what enough means. Enough at the end of each day becomes not too little yet not too much.

I start to wonder why I was waiting for someone to tell me when enough, is enough.

My version of enough = a sleep deprived, unhappy woman who spends her time pleasing others and trying to reach a level of living where she forgets who she is. So I start to say No, I start to cut back and I start to allow myself to rest. I create a new version of what enough looks like.

I start to tell myself at the end of each day that I have done enough. 

Deciding when enough is enough each day is a personal decision and a difficult one as each day is unique. Some days we need to do more and others we can pull back. Knowing when to stop and when to say, 'you know what, that is enough!' will help give us a healthy rest/work balance in our lives. I am becoming better at seeking that balance and am becoming more satisfied with what I have accomplished during my day. It is not perfect but it is enough.

How do you determine when enough, is enough?

Do you push yourself to your limits or are you good at knowing when to stop?