After years of therapy, my first order of mental health business is to check in with myself. How AM I feeling? Honestly. What small thing can I do for myself almost immediately to ease whatever anxiety/sadness/frustration/negative thought pattern that I'm having? Is there anything more significant that I need to do? The fundamental belief that I can take care and nurture myself--that I DESERVE to do that--is at the heart of how I approach my daily life.

This week, I found myself hitting a wall as far as my various time commitments. One particular semi-professional commitment had been weighing on me for some time as something I just didn't want to do anymore. So, after a lot of thought, I finally contacted the people I needed to and told them I was bowing out. What a relif.