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On my way to understanding what needed to stay and what needed to go in my everyday life in order for me to find a better emotional health I had to think about the outside activities I choose to be involved with. It was a little bit easier than in the past since our daughters have both already graduated high school and I don't need to base my decisions on their schedules as well as mine.

Here is what I discovered: too often we join groups because we have a fear of missing out, not because the group will actually be beneficial to us, or we will be beneficial to the group. So I started taking a hard look at what I do besides work. The activities I now join in with are limited, not because I stay at home all the time, but because I actually need some time to stay home and relax. I somehow had the thought that I should be doing it all - but it is not my job to keep the world running - that is God's job.

So now, when someone asks if I want to join a group, or go on an adventure, I stop and think more deeply than in the past. Will this be a good experience? Will I learn, grow, be challenged mentally or physically? Or will saying yes to this activity simply take away my margin time to decompress from work and other responsibilities? It's not always an easy answer.

Before you say yes to the next "thing" - stop and ask yourself, and ask God, is this the right activity for me? Learn to be okay with setting boundaries to protect your time and emotional health. You cannot draw water from a well that is dry.