Category: Self-Care

Last week I took a little break. I drove up the coast road to Big Sur, generally considered one of the most beautiful stretches of road on earth. And in case you’re wondering, I agree.  It is magnificent in so many ways.  

I went on this outing to connect or if you will, to reconnect, to nature and to me. Last week we talked about human connection and highlighted relational, social, and emotional connections. We gave a passing wink and a nod to our relationship to ourselves.  I believe this connection, this personal, intimate experience to ourselves is of utmost importance to our mental, physical, psychological and spiritual health.

So, practicing what I preach, I spent some time with me. I did go alone, and even though I wasn’t gone too long, it was extremely rejuvenating. I hiked, saw waterfalls, meditated on beautiful beaches, took lots of pictures, met some locals. I slept in my car – while parked on the beach – and one night I slept in a redwood grove. 

I’ve heard that we take better care of our cars than our bodies. Why is that? I’ve lost count of how many cars I’ve had. I know I have one body! It carries around my one soul. Why wouldn’t I do the best I can to care for my one body, for the health of my mind to support the expansiveness of my soul? I believe I would want to keep myself in a condition that allows me the best experience of my life on this planet.

It’s very important to take care of you! What does that look like? Is it as simple as you taking you out for dinner? Maybe buying yourself something that you don’t really need, but that you really want? Could it be a mini-vacation with yourself, just to get away for a couple of days and recharge?

You know yourself better than anyone else, so you get to decide how to do this, but I’m strongly suggesting, that however you do it, take time for you. You are the only you you’ve got!  Take Good Care of You!

Just sayin’

Habits. Some we call bad. Some we call good. Habits are just things we do. Often unconsciously.

One day, while taking a shower, I noticed that I tend to follow a pattern. Is that a bad thing? Probably not, but I’m not being present. I try to change it up sometimes just to make sure I am being present. Have you ever driven home from work or after being out for an evening and after pulling into the driveway, wondered how you got there? I notice that when I’m not being present is when I do things like trip up steps.

Smoking is a habit. One that we know all too well by now that there is really nothing at all good with that habit, but many continue to do it. Why is that?

Other habits we engage in: exercising, eating, TV, checking the news feeds. If you were to stand back and take a look at your patterns, how would what you call your habits make you feel? You might want to write some of these observations down.

As you may know, I’ve changed careers. I sold my window business and am now coaching full-time. My previous life was client-focused. It was structured to be managed by the schedule. And along with the physical labor of doing the daily work, I had to do the marketing to make sure I had work coming in. It definitely kept me busy. Starting my new adventure, and, not being as tied down to a calendared to-do list, at least not yet, I find it is alarmingly easy to get up, sit at the desk, peruse social media, have a coffee, make a couple of calls, and the next you know, it’s lunch and nothing has really gotten done. Where does the time go?

I’m working to develop a different mindset, different habits. I want to create habits that support my new endeavor, and also allow me to achieve a life balance that was missing before when all I did was work. Of course, I have to see what these habits will be. How can I do that, I’ve not lived that life yet?  I get to make it up.

I started something called The Miracle Morning. It’s a method of getting up a little early to get the blood flowing, read, write, and there are other exercises to get the day off to a good positive start. I’ve been doing this for about a week now and have noticed I am more focused, and purposeful. It appears that this is quickly becoming a habit. One that I believe is a good one.

They say -and we’ve talked about who ‘they’ are- it takes anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months to properly create a habit. I think it depends on what you’d like to accomplish. What is it that you would like to see in your life, that up till now hasn’t materialized the way you envision it? Identify it and make a change. Start small. Do you want to be more present? Try brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand. You want a little more exercise, but can’t really find the time? Park at the other end of the lot to get some walking in. Just do something. Simple, yes? Easy? Maybe.

But, if you have a vision for a part of your life that you are not experiencing, listen to Einstein – “You can’t solve a problem with the same mind that created it.” And you can change your mind to modify your behavior to achieve what you want, to create the life you want, to be who you want. Go ahead! Start a new habit! Just sayin’ 

Just sayin’