Who among us does not have a to-do list? There are things like taking out the garbage, doing the dishes and laundry. In all the craziness, how many of us add ourself on the list of things to take care of. This made sound cliche, but if you do not take care of yourself you will not be able to take care of anything else.
Think of when you have a schedule full of events. Kids soccer practice, dinner with friends getting an oil change or whatever it is you have planned. Suddenly, you get the flu. All your plans come to a crashing halt. You would think the one common denominator in all of our to-do activities (you) would be something we would put at the top of the list. Most of us, however, keep self-care as an item we will do if we have ‘extra time’. How many of us have any of that?
Today, make sure you take care of yourself so you can take care of everything you need.
Think of what it takes for a plant to grow. To be honest, I am not 100% sure on this one as plants struggle to grow in my company. What is true is that they need to be watered. Without watering a plant, it will no longer continue to grow. Then again, if you water it too much, it will also not grow. People are much the same way. It is often ironic how so many things in nature are alike.
What does watering yourself look like? That can take many forms. One of the ways is to make sure you get what you need to grow. The first thought to jump to mind is things like enough rest, proper nutrition and exercise. That is one part of watering yourself. That would be proper self-care. Much like how different plants needs different amounts of water, different people need different kinds and amounts of self-care to grow. What is certain is that we all need some.
Another type of ‘watering’ that we need is the two ‘i’s. That is information and inspiration. They will help both our mind and our spirit to grow. If you are not watering your mind and spirit, you may think you are just staying the same. Imagine what would happen to a healthy plant if you did not water it. It would slowly wilt and die. The same is true of our spirit and mind. We need to learn, we need to be inspired. This could be watching a video on YouTube. It could be listening to a podcast. (Feel free to checkout both my YouTube channel and podcast) When it comes to watering your spirit, that is important too. This could be attending services of your faith, or reading something inspirational. It could be as simple as a conversation with an inspiring friend or a walk in nature. Much like our minds, if your spirit is not watered, it slowly wilts and dies.
We all know what being uninspired and not growing feels like. Nothing seems to move the needle of excitement. Fatigue is our constant companion. The world seems dull and lifeless. That does not mean our life sucks, it just means we need to be watered. Much like a plant that is starting to wilt, when watered, can perk right up again. What we need is a does of watering for our minds and spirits.
Spend a few moments today thinking of ways in which you can water both your mind and spirit. How to help yourself grow. This could be learning about something that interests us. It could be going for that walk in nature. If we are feeling overwhelmed, we could be overwatering ourselves! That might mean focusing a little more on self-care. Spend a little more time in meditation or quiet reflection. Make sure to write down ways in which you can water yourself. When you need it most, it can be impossible to think of.
Here is a reminder that in the midst of spring cleaning, working on getting that summer body back and wondering where our New Year resolutions went, that we should always have a little fun.
The quote in the picture above captures this perfectly. Feet dirty, hair messy and eyes sparkling. The first thing that came to mind was a charity race I did a few years with Margie’s daughter. It was 30 obstacles in about 5 miles. Raised money for children with cancer. At the end of it, we were covered in mud, scrapesand pride.Not only had we completed the challenge, we raised money for a great cause.Our eyes were sparkling.
The next thing I thought of was children. When we are young, every day is an adventure. We dive right into life. Our feet are usually dirty, our hair is usually messy, but our eyes are usually sparkling. I think we need more of that as adults. I would love to hear what you do to put the sparkle back into your eyes.
I can see my mother, and many others who know me, rolling their eyes that I am writing this post. Truth is, I am not very good at getting rest. I average around 5 hours of sleep on any given night. About half of that on Sunday night. Like I have mentioned many times on this site, there is always opportunities to improve life and to learn. One of my main areas I could improve on is rest. As you can see, rest involves a lot more than sleep. Different aspects of our being require different kinds of rest. Looking at this list, I…well…kind of suck at all of them. Let us look at a few.
The type of rest that everyone knows is sleeping. Even though we all know about this, sleep deprivation is at an all-time high. As mentioned earlier, I am guilty as charged. It can seem like we have 36 hours of things to do in our 24 hours. What has become painfully obvious to me is that you are far less productive when you are lacking sleep. Not to mention the health risks this can bring on. These include, but are not limited to, increase risk of heart disease, increase risk of diabetes, obesity and depression. Not much good stuff there. Just thinking of that has me feeling tired. Quick note. That is not me in the picture. When I am sleeping my hair looks like Albert Einstein and Don King had a love child.
This is also not me. Not only am I not flexible enough to sit that way, but I do not look good in orange. Mental rest can be just as important as physical rest. I love meditating. There are so many great guided meditations on YouTube and different platforms. All you have to do is pop on headphones and push play. One of my favorites is a company called ‘Brain Sync’. I would encourage you to check them out. The benefits of just a few minutes of meditation are well documented. Even if meditation is not your thing, try a nice quiet walk, It is kind of like a form of meditation, but that is beside the point. What the point is, your brain needs rest just like your body.
Skipping to the bottom of our list from above, is sensory rest. We are bombarded with electronic stimulation from the moment we wake up (the alarm) to the moment we go to bed. Whether that is the radio in the car, listening to headphones at the gym, watching television or surfing the internet, take a break. Your mind may have important things to tell you that cannot get to the surface because there is too much stimulation. Do your best to set aside time each day to just sit and think You will be amazed at what comes to mind. When I am working on a book, I get more accomplished doing this that forcing myself to write. It seems to get the creative juices flowing.
Do yourself a favor and get some rest. Not just sleep, but rest in all of the areas listed above. My struggle is to stop working and get into bed. I am going to work on that. What area of rest do you struggle with the most? I would love to hear your answers and any suggestions you have to help the rest of us get more rest.
A quick reminder to create a balance in your life. We hear a lot about work/ life balance. We also hear a lot about how important it is to hustle, or grind. Then, we are also told how important it is to practice self-care and focus on creating joy in our life.
Which one of these is true? I believe they all are. You must have work life balance. That doesn’t always mean things will be 50/50. Some days you might have to work more. Some days are there to relax. Just make sure you have an ample supply of both.
Even on the days that have focused effort, make sure you are grateful and happy for how far you have come. You can both be satisfiedwith your life so far while still wanting more. Remember, without enough balance, anything just falls down. Life is the same way.
Today’s post will feature a deep dive into an answer to a question I posed to several friends and associates. The question was, “What, in your opinion, makes for a truly fulfilling life?” We will take a deeper dive into the answer featured in today’s post. This includes looking at how we can implement their ideas for fulfillment into our own life. This will allow all of us to wake up with a greater sense of inner peace and joy. If these answers inspire you, and you would like to share your own feeling on what makes life fulfilling, feel free to do so in the comments below. You could be featured in a future post or in my next book! Now let us take a look at today’s answer!
Today’s answer comes from my good friend Kurt. I’m not going to post his entire answer for the sake of brevity. His answer, like many Kurt will give, involves a great deal of thought. He is a man of many talents. Kurt is a DJ, an author and an entrepreneur. If you get a chance, I highly recommend his book, Nothing is Everything, which you can purchase on Amazon. I promise it will be both entertaining as well as enlightening. Just like a conversation with Kurt is.
Now for Kurt’s answer. He put fourth that in order to live a truly fulfilling life, one must remain true to yourself. Although, often with the best of intentions, others will advise you as to what makes a fulfilling life, you still must decide for yourself. While it is true that things such as gratitude, contributions, and appreciation for your friends and family are all good places to start,they are not what works for everyone.
When I asked the question “What makes for a fulfilling life?” I received many different answers. In fact, none of them were the same. They may have shared certain aspects with each other, but they were as unique as the people givingthem. Trying to feel fulfillment by using another person’s definition of the word is like trying to put a round peg in a square hole.
Yes, self-care is important. What that means to you can be as different as night and day to your neighbor, your friends, or even your spouse. A personal exampleis Margie and me. When I need self-care I head to the gym or out in nature for a vigorous hike. These things she views as a stressful chore. Her, on the other hand, likes to go shopping, often at stores filled with people. This is something I find stressful.
Telling Margie to go to the gym to relax just because that works for me makes no more sense than me going to a crowded store to go shopping. That is just fine. It is important to realize that staying true to ourselves, our priorities, and our inner nature arevital to living afulfilling life.
How about you? Have you ever found yourself trying to be fulfilled in something that someone else, or society, has told you that you should find fulfillment in? Have you discovered that didn’t work for you? Did it make you feel like something might have been wrong with you? It is time to throw that thinking and those feelings of guilt in the trash. Find fulfillment in your own unique way. Your source of fulfillment is as special and individual as you are!
We have been doing a great job at looking at what many of the readers of this blog find to be a fulfilling life. We will get back to that and look at some more amazing answers very soon. As the week starts and the pressures begin, I wanted to look at something that may get overlooked or pushed to the back burner. That is what the quote above says. Make sure you do something silly and fun that serves no other purpose than make you happy.
A lot of what gets in the way of this is the guilt people feel when it comes to spending any time in non-productive activities. As important as self-discipline is, it is equally as important to balance that with some fun and relaxation. One of the great ways to do this is to include people in your life who embody this trait. In my own life, I have been blessed with a lovely lady who is the poster child for silly. She is always a great reminder to spend some time on silly fun. It lowers blood pressure, increases feel good hormones in the body and reduces stress.
For those who still feel a little guilty, remember that all of this increases creativity. When you are constantly working hard, you can wind up burnt out. It is so important to let off a little steam and do something that puts a smile on your face. It could be singing and dancing to your favorite song. It could be walking in nature and taking time to look at the birds, trees and listen to the wind. It could be listening to some jokes on your phone or computer. Whatever works for you. Just remember to include moments of this throughout your day.
It is a new year, and time to start some new habits. One of yours maybe to invest more. When we think of investing we often think of stocks, bonds and other financial terms. The best investment you can make is none of these. The best investment you can make is in you! Without strong mental, physical and emotional health, none of the material stuff matters.
Take a look at some of the possible investments listed above. Most of them are things we indulge in if we have time. This year – make time. The stronger foundation we build, the more we can accomplish and bring to the world. Investing in yourself will pay off in bringing a better version to those you love.
Which one of the investments above sound best to you? Let us know in the comments below.
As the holidays get into full swing, our calendar becomes full. We are running around shopping for others. Perhaps we are at home cooking for others. There are still the usual commitments on top of that. What gets lost in the shuffle is time for ourselves. This doesn’t only happen during the holidays either. Life moves at such a rapid pace we can wear ourselves out trying to keep up. One job that we cannot slack on is loving ourselves. It is of the utmost importance.
Loving yourself does not involve arrogance. What it does involve is self-care. We need to take care of our health so we can show up for life and for those we care about as the best version of ourselves. It involves making ourselves a priority. Knowing that we may not be able to attend every holiday party we are invited to. We may not have the finances to buy gifts for everyone we would want to. That’s ok. By taking care of ourselves, we allow others to do the same. By loving ourselves, we demonstrate that we feel we deserve that love. We also learn what makes us feel loved. This is important when others wish to make us feel loved. In fact, if we do not love ourselves, we can make it impossible to feel that we deserve love from others.
Loving ourselves allows us to really appreciate and fully receive the love that others share with us. When your spouse tells you that you look attractive, but you are used to putting yourself down, it can be hard to believe much less appreciate. When you know that you have beautiful qualities, that compliment from your loved one is much easier to believe. When you can fully receive a compliment, it not only makes you feel better, but the one giving you the compliment as well. Think of it. If you tell someone they look nice and they always respond, “No I do not!” How likely are you to continue to compliment them? If they respond, “Thank you so much for saying so. That really means a lot.” How much better would you feel knowing that they appreciated your compliment.
It is your duty to love yourself. This does not mean you have to be perfect. It means that you are doing the best you can and showing up for others the best you can. You might have things about yourself that you don’t like, that is fine. Those things might be what someone else loves. You are an amazing soul and realizing that will not only benefit you but everyone else that you share life with. Don’t they deserve that? Don’t you?
One of my favorite quotes. It can feel impossible to make time for ourselves in this busy world. It is not only a great idea, but a necessity. I equate it to never getting the oil changed in your car because you do not have the time. What happens? Eventually, your car will break down. Not only will you be forced to spend the time it takes to repair everything that will have went wrong, but it will be far more expensive than had you just spent the time and money on an oil change.
Our bodies are much the same. If we do not take the time to indulge in self-care, our bodies, mind and spirit may collapse. Then we will not only need time for self-care, but perhaps some therapy or time for healing. It will end up being a more expensive endeavor from a time, and perhaps money, standpoint. It would be a far more intelligent investment upfront. Same with our physical health. If we do not spend time on eating healthy and fitness, we will need to spend time of sickness and disease when our body breaks down. Think of that next time you want a twinkie or skip a workout.
Let us make time for wellness, so we will not be forced to make time for illness. One additional added bonus is that we get to choose the time we spend on wellness. When sickness comes up, it is usually not at a time that is convenient for us or our life. How can you take some time for wellness in your life today?
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 