Happy Wednesday, folks.
I don’t know about you, but I really enjoy reading the Huffington Post.
Oftentimes I come across articles that interest me – that are applicable in life. A recent article was an expose on Type A personalities.
We’ve all read facts about people who are Type A…here’s what was on the list:
1. Waiting in long lines kills you a little bit inside.
2. You’ve been described as a perfectionist, overachiever, workaholic or all of the above.
3. You bit your nails or grind your teeth.
4. You have a serious phobia of wasting time.
5. You’re highly conscientious.
6. You’ve always been a bit of a catastrophist.
7. You frequently talk over and interrupt people.
8. You have a hard time falling asleep at night.
9. People can’t keep up with you – in conversation or on the sidewalk.
10. You put more energy into your career than your relationships.
11. Relaxing can be hard work for you.
12. You have a low tolerance for incompetence.
13. You’d be lost without your to-do list.
14. At work, everything is urgent.
15. You’re sensitive to stress.
16. You make it happen.
We make terrific OBMs, VAs, and Managers. We have this innate desire to get things done. To reach goals. To set it through.
We expend lots of energy to make that happen – which is why the fact that we also have a challenging time being stil.
Which brings me back to the Huff Puff article.
In addition to the 16 signs that you are Type A, there are also 20 tips to de-stress AND 12 apps to digitally relax! Ahhhh, relief!
Last week, I was not sleeping well.
My dog is allergic to life [yes, my vet actually told me that] and he is border-line nocturnal. He spends his middle-of-the-nights scratching wildly at his irritated skin. You’d be surprised how the sound booms throughout the house.
Additionally, my partner had been suffering from a cough. It was like he was coughing up blood and then choking on it. All night long. After a couple of weeks of this, by mid-week last week, I was frazzled.
Type A, yes. Superwoman, no.
Sometimes, I can function on very little sleep.
When it’s on my own terms. {hello, type a}
When I want to sleep and someone or something isn’t allowing me, I become exhausted, irritable, dramatic, and overwhelmed.
So on Wednesday when I phoned my client for our daily, morning meeting, she quickly said, “Good morning. Did you sleep at all last night?” And tears filled my eyes. I hadn’t told her that I wasn’t sleeping. I don’t believe my work was reflecting that I wasn’t sleeping. She just kindly said that she didn’t know why she was asking me, but she felt she was supposed to.
Just knowing that she could maybe sense something so intimate about me – from hundreds of miles away – made me feel substantial relief {in the past, it would have equaled uncomfortable vulnerability}. And as we said our goodbyes, she told me to be kind to myself, and shared a lovely mantra that her friend and colleague had once shared with her. It went something like this: I had all of the sleep that I will need today.
So, fellow type-Aers, even if you don’t work with someone as intuitive and kind as I do, or if your schedule just won’t allow a break this week, or if you’re keeping yourself busy to avoid feeling something challenging, I implore you to take care of yourselves.
My Juicy Glad-I-Caught-That: By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning. ~Lao Tzu
See you on the flip-side.
In love,
Noelle
xoxox