Recently I found myself having low energy to focus on my work and coaching. This was a surprise as those of you who spoke to me know how passionate I am about helping people. And that’s a bigger passion than my love for pistachio ice-cream.
After doing my research I came to realise that my issue was not motivation. My issue was a self neglect. There have been so much happening with my career in public health, house moves and coaching that involved a bit of commute and working on weekends. In an attempt to get attention my body craved unhealthy but irresistible chips and ice cream, combined with a re-watch of favourite TV series and the list goes on. If you have been there you may ask yourself a question – what should I do?
Firstly be gentle with yourself. If you are a high performing and constantly developing individual recognise that your body has its limits. Attend to your needs first – drop some important but “can wait” activities and spend some time taking care of yourself.
Secondly – get real with your time. We people tend to have magical thinking as to how much stuff we can do in a given week. There is only 24 hours in a day and 8 hours of that is dedicated to sleep (unless you are Arnold Schwarzenegger in which case he will tell you to sleep faster!)
In other words – slow down to speed up. A car with its wheels falling off can’t get too far. Trust that it is going to be ok if you take time for yourself. See it as a marathon not a race.
And thirdly create structures to support your wellbeing. Yes your life will have demands that are outside of your control and you can have a flexibility in your routines. If you have to finish your work late – don’t skip the gym but do a short 10 min work out instead. Don’t have time to meditate in the morning every day – have a weekend session instead. Enjoy that “me” time.
I hope you had a great week and invested some time in your self care.