You are not the check marks in the boxes of your to-do lists, or the lack thereof. You are not a machine; measuring your output and using it to determine your validity is not okay.
I get it - we live in a society where we all want to be the best, achieve the most, and have the greatest social circle. Spoiler alert: we can’t.
The American society makes us feel as though we need to be busy at all times. It’s actually viewed as cool to be constantly rushing, stressing, and running on little sleep and lots of coffee. Americans want to be productive at any cost, and that’s an issue.
With machines, you use the crap out of them until they break and then you replace them. With your body, mind, and soul, this is not possible. You are a human being, not a machine. It's sad that I actually love to be described as a machine.
Measuring your worth based on output is horrible for your mental health. Take it from somebody who has worked herself like a machine until she broke. I had an actual mental breakdown at the age of sixteen.
I missed 37 days of school during the 2nd semester of my junior year because of my uncontrollable anxiety. It is now two and a half years later, and I am still dealing with a lot of that anxiety in my life. It feels like the world is just a competition and I'll never be able to win.
The thing is, you don’t need to be society’s definition of successful. The end does not justify the means. You don’t need to be honor roll, valedictorian, all-American, Dean’s list, top 10 percent, or whatever. You don't need to have every minute of every day booked and planned. You don't need to have the best Instagram feed. That all means absolutely nothing if you are not happy, healthy, or simply okay.
You are not a machine, you need to take care of your mind, body, and soul. You cannot replace them when they are worn out or broken down. You are a human being with a life, a family, and the right to be happy. You are allowed to take breaks, breathe, and have fun.
You are not a machine; stop treating yourself like one.
