EP.44: Still Carrying Too Much? How To Lighten Your Summer Load
Summer is supposed to feel lighter and more relaxed. But for many of us, it doesn’t.
In this gentle episode, Bobbi invites you to pause, reflect, and ask two powerful questions as a way to lighten the load. If your to-do list feels never-ending, if you’re feeling restless, tired, or wondering where you are in the middle of your summer, this is your reminder:
You have a choice.
You can slow down.
You can shift.
And it starts with one small moment of honesty.
This isn’t about dropping everything—it’s about choosing what and how you carry what matters most.
Hi Everyone. Welcome back to the Be Still With Bobbi podcast. I’m glad you’re here.
It’s the middle of summer… and if you’re anything like me—or like the women I sit with each week—you might be wondering: Why does it still feel so heavy?
I want to talk about something that’s been sitting on my heart lately. Because summer is supposed to feel lighter. Slower. More spacious.
And yet.
In conversation after conversation, what I’m hearing from women is this: “I thought things would calm down, but I’m still carrying so much.” Or, “I told myself this summer would be different—but here I am, overwhelmed again.”
And maybe you feel that, too.
So, let’s start with a little bit of honesty
This week on our Be Still Collective call, I asked two really simple questions:
- What do you need to let go of?
- What do you need more of?
My own answers surprised me. I realized I needed to let go of the pressure to “get it all done.” I needed to let go of the idea of perfection. Of “shoulds.” My inner taskmaster whispers to me that I’ll only feel peace when everything is finished. But that’s a lie.
And then one of the women in our group said something that stopped me in my tracks.
She said:
“I can’t let go of anything. Everything on my plate is something I have to handle.”
And I just sat with that, even after the call was over. Because I think a lot of us believe that’s true.
We don’t even realize we’ve stopped questioning it.
The Conditioning To Do It All Runs Deep
Somewhere along the way, we stopped seeing our responsibilities as choices.
And started seeing them as identities.
We became the ones who keep all the plates spinning.
The ones who make sure everyone else is okay.
The ones who absorb the pressure, clean up the mess, and hold it all together.
We tell ourselves we can’t slow down. That we have to keep going.
But here’s the truth I want to gently offer today:
You do have a choice.
And letting go isn’t about being irresponsible.
It’s about remembering that you’re human.
It’s about coming home to yourself.
So, let me ask you: What Are You Carrying Right Now?
Let’s slow this down for a second.
Take a deep breath with me.
Ask yourself:
- What am I carrying right now that feels heavy?
- What expectations am I holding that no one else is even asking of me?
- What am I saying yes to out of fear, guilt, or simply habit?
And then…
- What do I actually need more of? Rest? Peace? Time with friends? Time to sit down and read a good book?
Maybe it is rest.
Maybe it’s laughter.
Maybe it’s five minutes in the morning where no one asks anything of you.
Maybe it’s permission to not be productive every second of every day.
The myth is that we have no margin
We think we can’t afford to slow down.
But here’s the irony: we can’t afford not to.
We think our lives will fall apart if we let go.
But the truth is, we fall apart when we don’t.
And the summer flies by.
And we never get the rest we thought we would.
And we reach the end of another season, wondering where we went in the middle of it.
Friend, your life is not a to-do list.
You are not a machine.
Letting go doesn’t mean you’re giving up.
It means you’re choosing to live differently.
The same woman in the Be Still Collective, who said she can’t let go of anything, asked an earnest question: How? How do I let go? How do I decide what stays and what goes on my list?
And my answer was so painfully simple, it almost doesn’t make sense. Choose. Choose to do it differently.
How did all of those tasks and commitments get on your plate in the first place? Did you let them in? Did you say yes when you meant no? Did you have the best intentions when you said yes, but now realize you don’t have the bandwidth or desire to follow through?
That’s okay. The key isn’t figuring out how to get it all done. That’s the myth.
The key is actually to change your mind about what’s important in this summer season. I promise. The tasks and commitments will still be there, even if you decide to take time for yourself.
You will never have margin or time to rest unless you finally deem it important enough to give it to yourself. You don’t need a better morning routine or a more organized planner book. You need to decide that you are worth taking time for yourself with no agenda.
So, here’s my invitation to you for this week
What I’d love for you to do sometime today or this weekend:
Find a quiet moment. It doesn’t have to be long.
Sit down with your journal—or just close your eyes.
And ask yourself those same two questions:
- What do I need to let go of?
- What do I need more of?
Let the answers come honestly. Without judgment. Without a to-do list.
Because you do get to choose how you move through this summer.
And sometimes the bravest thing you can do…
Is lay something down.
Even if it’s just for today.
Thank you for being here with me. If this resonated, would you forward this episode to a friend who might need to hear it too?
And if you want to keep walking this out in real time, come join us inside The Be Still Collective. We’d love to hold space for you there.
Sending you so much grace this week.
Bye for now.
