Take a break before you break (or burn your toaster)

Sometimes life throws obstacles on our path. Sometimes they are big, sometimes just small. There is no avoiding this. You can plan ahead and predict some of them, but still there are some that you just have no control over. But how you react to it is up to you. Will you curl up in a ball and cry when something goes wrong, or do you get up and do something about it? Most things in life can be harnessed into a driving force, no matter how negative they are. Those of you who have signed up to my mailing list know some of my personal struggles I’ve faced in my life over the years. I could have gone off the rails, and sometimes been close to it. But I always made the choice of using these obstacles to drive me stronger and harder on my path.

Two days ago I did something stupid… Yep I own up to it… I left a toaster unattended and forgot about it. Sure thing it went on fire… Now I did notice it just in time and managed to put the fire out before it spread. So what I was left with was just a burned toaster, and blackened kitchen cupboards to clean. Of course I was furious first that the toaster did not pop, or that the trip mechanism did not work, but after cleaning the mess and calming down, I realised I have been working flat-out for three months with hardly any full days off since Easter… So yeah, this was my fault. But it made me realise I was in need of few days break 🙂 I’m about to head on tour with Sliotar in few weeks, and I have an album to finish before I go, so I might have been burning the candle at the both ends a bit.

Now I decided to take a few days off, head across the country for a few days of “me time”. The thing is, I know once I do this, I will be back working much more efficiently and get things done. But did it really have to go as far as me nearly setting the house on fire before I realised this? Well, I have the choice of complaining about it or just saying: “yes, that’s what it took, so learn and move on”. At the end of the day, no one got hurt and all I need is a new toaster 🙂

So don’t forget to take a break before you break (or burn a toaster). You can’t take care of anybody else if you don’t first take care of yourself 🙂

J.P.

The author J.P. Kallio is a singer songwriter
To get two of his free songs go HERE and click Download