True Balance

The month of July has been insane!  Launching my new book, coaching, kayaking, hiking, beach days, and Friday romps with my daughter has made for an extraordinarily busy time.  Being in tune with the warm weather, ever changing blooms, and angel painted skies is a summer blessing. With that being said, I am noticing that I still need to create some additional ME time.  Loads of summer activities tend to kick my butt if I’m not making space to sink in and also enjoy the ‘living is easy’ part of summertime. Just last week I was only a few steps away from falling in the brink!

How are you caring for yourself this summer?

Are you allowing for some time to take a breath?

You Deserve to take better care of  yourself…

Living a vibrant, luscious life is about creating opportunities for pleasure, relaxation and self-exploration.  It’s about knowing who you are and expressing your unique gifts in the world through gratitude, passion, connection and abundance.  You cannot experience a luscious life when your well is dry.

The first step to this journey of caring for yourself is to commit to making one small change,  and experiencing what kind of impact your healthy choice can have on your life.

Check out thee five simple ideas designed to help you take better care of yourself this summer:

Carve out some ‘YOU’ time.  Everyone needs time alone to be peaceful and recharge. Start with 2-5 minutes for silent reflection. Be LAZY! Read a few pages in a novel, take a walk, make a yummy new recipe. It really doesn’t matter what you do, as long as it’s all about YOU!

Creative exploration. Enjoy the experience of creation. Paint, sculpt, cook, garden, play! While you are in the midst of luscious creation, I dare you to make a big fat mess!

Get it down in writing.  Self expression through journaling is a marvelous tool for clearing your mind. It’s a blast to witness and record your thoughts as they hop around the page like a juiced up water bug on the river.

Joy Spotting. Witness and log all of your joyful moments.  Each summer day has potential for many small moments that bring joy and happiness. My family shares five “happy moments” each night at the dinner table. We’ve found this is an excellent way to stay positive and learn more about each other.

Move your body. When we are caught up in crossing items off our to-do lists, we can tend to neglect nurturing and exercising our healthy bodies. Whether you dance, walk, run or ride, your body and spirit will thank you for the gift. Get up and move your body!

I went to a Salsa Dancing lesson this weekend. I was already primed from my Mojito night on Tuesday, Cinco de Mayo Wednesday, followed by Paella night on Thursday….it was a very Latin week for me, so Salsa just made sense, si?

Here’s what I noticed. All of the students were trying really hard. Extreme concentration was apparent on our faces as we counted steps to get the rhythm down. As beginners, nothing came easy. We weren’t into the flow of it, and felt a bit like fish out of water. No big deal, we told ourselves, we were beginners. No one expected us to know what we were doing, and we were having fun anyway. 

And that’s when it hit me….Salsa dancing is just like life. Your level of comfort and ability depends on who you choose to ‘dance’ with. If you associate with people who are unsure or confused, you will probably feel that way too, and while misery loves company, it’s not the best way to grow.  Choose your partners well…make sure their playing level brings you higher, and stretches you. If you find you are a bit stagnant…go find some new partners to play with and see how you feel about life; see how you feel about yourself; see just how much more into the rhythm of life you are.

Many of the clients I coach reach out to me because they are overwhelmed with runaway train schedules, insane mental chatter and too many commitments. We share our time uncovering what a new more peaceful reality can look like. You can tame your pregnant mind and reduce anxiety by using the following check list.

• Prioritize.  Line up realistic actionable tasks for your dream project within a specific time frame.  Monitor you performance by creating a critical path time-line. Incremental progress toward your dream IS PROGRESS. Celebrate each victory, no matter how insignificant they feel at the time.

• Get real. Perfectionism is an unhealthy expectation. Trying to be perfect all the time will paralyze you and halt your performance. Instead of setting your site on perfection, focus on excellence and get moving.

• Be gentle with yourself. You must not berate yourself with negative self-talk and mental rubbish. Your best weapon to clobber the schoolyard bully in your head is positive self-talk.  What happens when you catch your evil twin being mean and nasty? What if you stopped those thoughts immediately upon their arrival?

• Ask for help.  Seeking an ear or advice from others will help you move along your chosen path with much less stress and anxiety. Chances are there are droves of people who have been where you are and would be willing to help you.  How can I support you?

• Play.  Make time for family and friends and do the activities you enjoy. You deserve to enjoy yourself. Create some regular play time and have a blast!  What kind of activities do you enjoy? When was the last time you enjoyed goofing around?

• Check in with how you feel mentally and physically. Pay attention to when you feel your well is dry and find a way to fill up again.  A change of scenery or a few deep cleansing breaths may be all you need to keep your energy flowing.  I like to take mini breaks by stepping outside and soaking up the beauty of a natural setting.

• Clobber your fear.  Most people on the planet are dealing with fear in all shapes and sizes. From the annoying little monsters under your bed, to the giant panther ready to pounce on you in the middle of the jungle, fear is something we create in our minds.  I have learned that when I take action on something daunting the fear falls away.  How do you address your fears?

I trust you will find some of these simple stress reducing ideas useful.  I would love to hear about how you tame your pregnant mind.  If you have an interest in getting some additional support for stress and anxiety, you are welcome to visit Anxiety Slayer .