Mid-Summer Wellness Check In

Mid-Summer Wellness Check in

It’s almost halfway through the summer (!!!) and it’s time to check in! How are my Better Business Babes doing?? Take a second and answer these simple questions:

• Are you tired?
• Have you felt overwhelmed in the last week?
• Have you cancelled plans to socialize?
• Have you been forgetting to eat or overeating?
• Has anyone remarked about you not seeming like yourself…?

If you answered “yes” to any of the above, you’re are probably enjoying a full-to-the-brim summer!

Social events ✓ Work Projects ✓ Playdates ✓ Visit to extended family ✓ Birthday parties ✓ Vacations ✓ Home projects ✓

Nothing to see here, just the usual stuff for busy, successful women like yourself!

Whoa! Stop and think for a second how incredibly busy you have been just since Memorial Day… No wonder you answered “yes.” If you’re feeling a bit burned out already and thinking months in advance, you may be in need of some serious self-care to finish out the summer. (Don’t worry, I’m raising my hand too! And I just quit my full time job!) These questions are just a quick assessment, but they give us clues about how we are feeling and how well we are taking care of ourselves and for most people, “self-care” just isn’t at the top of the To-Do list.

Self-care is deliberately taking time for the betterment of your mind, body, and soul.

I did a quick search on Instagram, #selfcare has 2,408,432 hashtags! However, what I know from my work as a therapist is that there really isn’t a lot of self-care happening. With our list of responsibilities; it’s easy to skip over the things that we do for ourselves – just for our own well-being. The other obstacle is that self-care can sound complicated, like where am I supposed to get the time and money for that?! (And babysitter if I’m being completely realistic!) Most of us conjure up pretty elaborate ideas of what justifies as self-care – a day at the spa, a quick weekend getaway with a significant other, reading a book with a refreshing beverage, getting into the gym for a long workout. And that does sound hard! How many of us have a few hours to devote to just ourselves, to just our wants?

The truth is self-care isn’t just a want, it’s a NEED.

If we want to be successful in our relationships, work, hobbies, parenting, etc. we HAVE to take care of ourselves. And it really doesn’t have to be as complicated as it can sometimes seem. The other obstacle we face is right there in the phrase: SELF-care. Engaging in self-care means that we have to value ourselves ahead of others. This is especially difficult for successful, busy women like yourself. We are so used to taking care of everyone else’s needs that we forget our own! We are also used to managing a million things and never sweating so we power through thinking~ “I got this” but it all adds up and before you know it, you find yourself screaming “YES!” to the above questions we started with. Bottom line~ We have got to make some changes so let’s get started!

1)   We have to rethink and redefine self-care. The phrase is trendy and off-putting for some so call it whatever you’d like. The point is to think of self-care like maintenance – akin to brushing your teeth, getting an oil change, or getting an annual physical. Self-care IS health care. We don’t wait until we’re in crisis, we need to actively plan, schedule and prioritize it!

2)   Keep it simple, keep it free, keep it enjoyable. If it seems like another thing on your To-Do list, it’s not self-care. In fact, the easier it is, the more likely you are to keep up with it.

3)   Make a plan to do it. Below are some of the easiest forms of self-care. Challenge yourself to try out 2 things from the list below. See how you feel afterwards. Was it worth it? Can you name something else to try out in the week? What can you commit to? Can you use a 15-minute work break, or a child’s naptime, or steal time anywhere else? Be realistic about when and how often, but set a time.

• Dance in your living room.
• Play a game of Hide & Seek with your kids.
• Make a good diet choice – pack a lunch, make a smoothie, cook a healthy meal.
• Unplug from social media for a day.
• Avoid risky behaviors – can you hold off on a smoke or a drink?
• Laugh.
• Reach out to a friend and make plans to meet up.
• Start taking a multivitamin.
• Spend time picking out an outfit for tomorrow that will make you feel confident.
• Give yourself a compliment.
• Stretch – in your seat or on the floor.
• Get a full 8 hours of sleep.
• Take a deep breath. (It can be that simple!)

Self-care is just not optional. We all know what it feels like to keep pushing when we are well past our limits so let’s not let it happen this time around. There is likely something that has been on your mind that you just can’t seem to get to but ask yourself ~ Why not? Why aren’t YOU the priority in your life?

Stop waiting, find a way to make it happen this week. Remember, when you take time to replenish yourself, you have so much more to give. And you deserve a happy and healthy summer!

Be well friends!