I wish to begin this week’s post with acknowledging a courageous wahine toa. A person, who has strived for excellence, put-in so much time and energy to craft her skill and has given it her all; New Zealand netballer, Ameliaranne Ekenasio.
A week or so ago Ameliaranne withdrew (for now) from the start of the season for her team the Pulse. Below is her Instagram post announcing her break.
In response to Ameliaranne’s announcement, Dame Valerie Adams spoke of her own challenges with being “Always-On”; both on and off-field.
You don’t need to be an elite athlete to experience mental health issues related to chronic fatigue. Sometimes passion-for and commitment-to our mahi can be so strong, that it clouds our own needs. Sustained over time, it can erode one’s mental, social, emotional and physical wellbeing.
Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy. We can believe (often falsely), that we can’t let people down, that there will be no one else to do it, that we just have to keep working harder, faster, longer. This can sometimes be called self-less, service, or doing your job. It could also be called martyrdom, ego, or selfishness.
When we are in a state of actualising our potential, we are able to calibrate passion, achievement drive and work-life balance/blend. Dr Martyn Newman speaks about the inconnectedness between these elements in this video.
To finish, I would like to leave you with a song from NZ artist Greg Johnson; Save Yourself.
Go well this week Amazing Ones.
MA 🙂
