It’s time to get back some HAPPY in your life
You’ve spent the last two hours lying awake, fretting about how much longer until you finally drop off to sleep. Tomorrow’s problems replay in a never-ending loop in your mind and you’ve been like this for weeks.
Why is it that as soon as we hit the pillow – that sacred time of rest and recuperation, our minds run riot and start giving us a hard time? Five hours sleep, rushing out of the house without breakfast and this is how you start every single working day!?
Here’s a thought: stress > anxiety > insomnia > more anxiety > more insomnia > more stress…
Look at that for a self-perpetuating vicious circle. Believe us, we’ve been there.
Whatever the root cause of stress in your life, the bottom line is it’s probably time to get a handle on it before burnout hits.
Remember number 1
The saying ‘put on your life jacket before helping others’ is a smart motto for life, not just for when the ship’s sinking.
Taking care of your own needs first is not selfish, it’s smart. It’s smart because your wellbeing is your key to happiness (and happy people tend to live longer). The principal works because, it’s true, we are useless to others if we are sinking!
By taking care of number one, we are healthier, mentally stronger versions of ourselves. We have energy to devote to others, a clarity of mind and more to offer those around us. This is true of all our relationships.
Pleasing everyone
You may be the kind of person who gives your all to everything in every situation. Anything less than 100% is a failure in your eyes and making others happy is your way of proving your value to those that matter.
Focusing on things of greater personal importance is NOT laziness.
While this is admirable, your wellbeing is of greater importance and if you’re forfeiting this to meet the expectations of others, then you are selling yourself short.
Time
That wonderful commodity we all wish we had more of. So much to do in a day, how to justify taking that hour-long yoga class when you’ve got more important things to see to. You may think you’re too busy to consider taking time out but perhaps this could be part of the problem?
Lack of time is actually lack of priorities. (Tim Ferriss)
If you don’t feel like you can break the routine to take time for yourself then a shift of perspective is what’s needed.
More time = more self-worth and more reinforcement from those around you.
So much of our attention is stretched in different directions and it’s important to keep that sense of centre. For relationships, parenthood, to be a good boss or work colleague, you must not lose sight of your own self.
Taking care of YOU
An effective way to start taking positive steps toward this is to start by doing something for yourself each day, without compromise and without fail. Allocating this time (as you might by taking the kids to school or the dog for a walk) will help you make a routine of allowing yourself some of that important self-care and avoid burnout.
Even taking an hour a day is enough to appreciate what you’re missing and will boost your mood, creativity and ability to handle the stresses in your life.
Off-loading low priority tasks that a personal assistant can take care of for you, is another great time investment that will help you:
- get back on your feet and regain balance;
- be confident in your intentions;
- throw aside the guilt;
- invest in yourself; and
- start working towards finding your authentic happy self again.
If you are interested to find out how we can support you, click here to learn more.
