The First Step

Perhaps you’ve been running on full tilt lately.  Between working and taking care of your family, maybe you’re feeling overwhelmed and exhausted.   In one way, there’s really nothing wrong – maybe it’s getting dark earlier where you live and it’s cold out so you blame it on the weather.  On the other hand, you may be feeling more tired than usual and like you’re about to “catch something”.

We’ve all been in this spot.  What’s the solution?

There’s no one right way to do anything, including make choices about how to live your life.   And, by the same token, there are some things that we do that help us flourish and feel good and since we’re all individuals, it’s different for each of us.

Here’s a suggestion for you.    Just stop for a moment  right now.  Check in with yourself by taking a nice deep breath and let it out with a sigh.   (Yes, you DO have time to breathe right now – even if you don’t think so!)

If you really don’t feel like doing this right now and just want to get to the end of this article, make a date to do this later when you’ve got a couple minutes.  I promise it will be worth your while.

Ask yourself, what have you been doing in the last 24 hours? Just look at the facts.  What have you been physically doing?

Then, ask yourself if what you’ve been doing could possibly have something to do with what you are feeling.

Here’s an example.  Jane has been feeling really run down lately.  When I asked her to do this, she said she didn’t have time but would do it before going to bed and send me an email about it.  Here’s what she’d been doing:

• On the computer sitting down from 9-12 and 1-5.
• On the computer at home sitting down from 7-11:30PM
• Eating Pirate Booty, grilled cheese sandwiches, skipping breakfast, and having chicken breast, asparagus and brownies for dinner around 9PM in front of the computer while watching TV
• Exercising at 7AM before work for an hour
• Helping her child prepare for ACT’s while working at home
• Taking the dog to the vet
• Sleeping about 5 hours a night, getting up to go to the bathroom
• Running about 20 minutes late for most appointments with clients

It’s no wonder she’s feeling burned out and it made sense to her that though this is the normal routine for her, it’s not sustainable. I asked her if there was some small change she was willing to make in her schedule for the rest of the week.  She agreed to start her day with a protein shake.

A week later, she’s done that most days and she says she’s feeling better.  She notices when she skips breakfast now. She’s also decided to set a timer on her computer so she gets up every 45 minutes to stretch. She’s amazed how little things make such a big difference.

I encouraged her to keep noticing what’s working because what we pay attention to grows.

Try it and find out for yourself.

Here’s my question for you today:

How are you feeling?  Look at the last 24-48 hours and see if you can find the connections between how you’re feeling and what you’re doing.  Would you like to make any small changes in what you’re doing?  Please feel free to share your ideas here or ask for support.

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