To be honest with you, the concept of self care, was not one that I had heard of before I entered the world of coaching, when I first heard it, it sounded kind of odd and a bit clinical in an icky way to me. I was much more familiar with taking care of others, husband, children, pets and so on! It dawned on me one day during the emergency procedures on a flight, the part where they say, in the event of an emergency, put your own oxygen mask on first, then help those around you, that we must take care of ourselves, even if we are consummate helpers, we can’t help others unless we take care of ourselves. After, the car accident it was if this truth became exponentially more important. I realized that there were certain ways that I needed to take of me, or I would not be at my best for taking care of my husband and the seemingly 1000s of tasks that were required!
My first step was to figure out what I needed, each day in order to be able to show up as my best self in the situation. So even with my husband and his broken neck and excruciating pain, I had to fine a way to do what I needed to do for myself. Physically, I needed to eat properly, exercise and practice yoga. Emotionally, I needed to be able to talk to my close family and friends for support. Spiritually, I needed to meditate. Moodwise, I needed to have some shots of joy each day. For me, that was being with Ruffus, my ever cheerful dog pal.
My next step was to make a plan for doing these things. I found that my first reaction was to worry and fret, plus with all the Doctor appointments and rehab appointments and paper work after an accident, it was like having a full time job, so the reality was that time management was an issue. My day timer was full of appointments and to do lists, so each day under the section “Important”, I wrote down my self care list, meditate, talk to BFF, run and so on. One interesting thing that happened, was that not only did it relieve some of my stress, it actually helped my husband to have me focus on something other than his condition for a while.
Taking care of Your Self is a very important part of becoming more Resilient. The time and care invested in you, helps you be stronger, and better able to withstand the pressures of getting through rough times big or small.
What do you need each day, to be at your best, physically, emotionally, spiritually and mood wise?