What About Me?
Have you ever felt: Exhausted - that life has been taken over by work and the chaos in the country? That it seems impossible to be present for the people you love. That life is passing you by. That if you keep going like this, you'll hit a breaking point. You'll either burn out or burn down.
I hate to say it, but since the Pandemic you have a lot of company. Stress is a 300-Billion-dollar liability and much of that cost is a result of silent stress. The “Stress in America” poll by the American Psychological Association (2021) reported people feel:
75% more isolated
67% higher stress
57% greater anxiety
53% feeling more exhausted.
A major concern is that studies have shown that while 95% of people think they are self-aware, only 10-15% truly are.
Self-care, in a chaotic time, means taking the time to do things that help you live well and improve both your physical health and mental health. Self-care generally fits into seven pillars: mental, emotional, physical, environmental, spiritual, recreational, and social. A well-balanced self-care routine involves each of these pillars. Generally, most of us at best address two of them.
If you don’t love yourself, you cannot love others. You will not be able to love others. If you have no compassion for yourself, then you are not able of developing compassion for others.
The Dalai Lam
Certainly, a part of self-care is self-compassion. Self-compassion involves acting the same way towards yourself when you are having a difficult time, fail, or notice something you don’t like about yourself. Self-compassion allows us to be better able to take care of others. Some suggestions:
· Watch Your Trash Talk – Your Inner Critic
· Employ a Growth Mindset (read Carol Dweck’s book)
· Express Gratitude 2x/day
· Be Generous – add value, while serving others with the gift of yourself
· Have Mindful Self-Compassion, Self-Forgiveness, Self- Love
We set goals for our business yet seldom for ourselves to be better able to become our authentic self. Focus on yourself for the next two months in each of the pillars and see how it will affect every element of your life. It is not selfish, but the way you can better serve everyone. Need a coach to guide you, contact me!