Hello all! I usually do not have to ask a question as this sub as well as top post in TheRedPill + the side bar usually answer any and everything I want and need to know.

However, after doing some research, it seems very clear to me that my eldest cat, whom I've had throughout the entirity of my childhood up until being 22 now, is either really sick, slowly dying, or a combination of both.

A few years ago my dad and I made the decision to put my late mom's dog. Kim was a family dog but undoubtedly so had the biggest emotional bond to my late mom. That decision was excruciatingly painful in the moment, lingering after the moment, and as time passed after the fact. Still is actually.

Alas, here my dad and I will be in an almost identical situation. We will visit the vet tomorrow to get a professional diagnosis to see what is actually wrong, if it's curable, if it's worth curing, if the cat is in pain (he's not very talkative and doesn't Look like he's in pain but I cannot tell), and if medicine is worth it to numb the pain solely to keep him alive.

Now, I bringing up this because I don't want to backslide. By this point in life, I would think I'm quite used to death - Death of my mom and grandma all in the same year, and the deaths of my uncle and 2 dogs not even 2 years apart. Just got into self-improvement and taking it seriously and I can already tell just the thought of my cat dying is causing me to back pedal. I spend a lot of time contemplating spending time with my cat versus working on my own craft. (Granted, a lot of the time he's right next to me while working on my craft but it is immensely different than just spending actual undistracted time with him.)

My question is -

How does one continue to work on self-improvement when getting punched with the reality of death and life?

Clearly you cannot, or shouldn't, pause your life. Undoubtedly so there is a mourning period and all...but at the same time that is no excuse to backpedal and not stay the course of self-improvement and committing to a better lifestyle.

This is causing a lot of stress that I am in turn tunneling into working out and working on my own music business, tunneling into productivity, but where is the line between disconnecting (that isn't the correct word by any means...) from your feelings in order to get shit done and not put your life on pause, and understanding that sometimes you Do need to pause in order to feel what you are feeling?