Are You Overdoing It This Summer?

How has your summer been? Have you been doing too much?

If so, you’re not alone. Summer has a tendency to have many of us running around like crazy people. Why? Because summer is the time of pitta dosha.

The nature of pitta, composed mostly of fire (with a bit of water), is to make things happen! If you’ve got a dream—that’s the creative energy of vata. But if you want to make it a reality? That’s pitta dosha. The essence of pitta is to transform. And if something needs to get done, pitta will definitely light that fire.

However, during the heat of the summer, pitta can get exacerbated, and we may find ourselves pushing to do way too much. I noticed this in myself recently. Just having returned from vacation, I felt behind and created all sorts of tasks for myself that I believed had to be done ASAP. And when things weren’t happening as quickly as I’d expected, I became frustrated and irritable. My drive and focus was moving me into a state of near mania!  

Because of my understanding of the doshas, however, I knew this was a sign of imbalanced pitta. And I also knew just what to do to bring balance.

When we’re hyper-focused, we forget to see the big picture.
 In my case, simply taking a big step back from my desk and my calendar to check in with what I was really trying to accomplish was all I needed to create a shift towards balance. Because from this bigger picture mindset I was able to see that I wasn’t aligned with what I was truly trying to accomplish and that:

  1. Believing “I’m behind” is self-defeating and only takes me out of balance because I overschedule myself and create anxiety around my to-do list.
  2. When there is a lot to do, I must prioritize and come into acceptance that I can only do so much.
  3. Many of the things I believed had to be done immediately, really weren’t that urgent!

Immediately upon making these realizations, a huge weight came off my shoulders. And what became even clearer is what to do next and move forward.

What about you? Where are you trying to do too much? Can you take a step back and get a better perspective of what’s really important for you to do? Can you give yourself some space to breathe and choose ease over struggle today?