Today, I was very stressed at work.  I made a mistake on my second day that showed up today.  I’m not perfect.  I don’t expect perfection from myself.  I’ve learned so much in the last two and a half weeks that I couldn’t even really remember exactly what happened.  As my name was (literally) all over the mistake, all I could do was try to remember what transpired, apologize for the mistake and move forward.

I carry my mistakes on my shoulders.  While I know I’m not perfect, I beat myself up for mistakes.  

By the end of the day, as we were ending our day, I joked, saying that I wanted a drink.  (Maybe I wasn’t joking…) Instead, I went to the gym.  I ran longer than I ever have, and I left the gym feeling great.  And completely exhausted.  In a great way.

It turns out that exercise is a much better stress reliever than food or alcohol.  I’m actually helping to extend my life, feel emotionally better and I’m starting to see the results.  I have a long way to go, but I’m headed in the right direction.

I wish someone would’ve told me this years ago. Or that I would’ve heard them when they told me.