Anyone I interact with on a regular basis knows January was a tough month for my family. While I’ve been blessed with a life of relative smooth sailing, in January the seas got rough and I thought my boat might capsize. Sometimes all there was to do was hang on – and breathe. Other times, to let go - and breathe.

During a recent stress management seminar I delivered to a group of professional women, I offered the following metaphor. Imagine yourself a juggler keeping several balls in the air. I know you feel like that some times. Notice which balls are made of glass and which are made of rubber. The glass balls break when dropped – the rubber ones bounce back.

And so I let a couple of the rubber balls drop. I didn’t make my daily Bikram yoga classes and ate way too many salty but oh so delicious nuts from Costco. Didn’t read as many pages as I’d hoped for my New Year’s (re)Solution. And my blog posts and tweets are behind. But I was there for my family and all that mattered most. I’m now back to yoga and trying to pass on the nuts….

If you find yourself over-stressed trying to keep too many balls in the air, make the distinction between those made of “glass” and those of “rubber.” Give yourself permission to drop a rubber ball from time to time. They (and you) will bounce back.