Stop to move forward. It's a valid tactic. Consider why avoiding burnout is your best stress management strategy.
Sometimes we have to have someone tell us to stop. I have told men and women I work with to ‘Stop.’ In the past, I have been told to ‘Stop.” We get in such a state of overload that we almost can’t see how we can get off the treadmill. It seems that everything must be done and done yesterday. And we keep on either allowing others to add more or layering it on ourselves. We often need someone from outside our situation to make that critical observation and intervention.
But you say, “I can’t stop.” Sorry, but yes you can. There are very few occasions when something cannot be done to address the problem of ‘too much’. You may not like the options, and you may choose to ignore the options, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t there. And it doesn’t mean that you don’t have a choice. You always have a choice.
God brought a Jethro to Moses when he was overloaded, morning till evening, spending long hours involved with people and their daily concerns and needs. Jethro wisely observed “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.” In other words, STOP. See with clarity what you are doing. Understand the consequences of continuing to operate this way. Find another way. This is not God’s agenda for you as important as it all may appear and as pressing as the need may be. It can be done another way. There are options. But it is a matter of choice.
I would like to ask you to pause right now and think about your own situation. Is it possible that you are doing way too much for your own physical, mental, emotional and social well being - in short your spiritual wholeness? You have to pause to think about this. Unless you take the time to reflect you will not understand the implications of what you are doing.
Do you need to STOP?
