Greater Boston, April 2, 2020 – Over the last few weeks, our lives have been upended like we have never seen! Many of us are now living in a constant state of chaos with kids being homeschooled, work shutdowns, projects canceled, and being barraged with a steady stream of Coronavirus and economic updates. We are living in chaotic times and the day-to-day stress is putting us all on edge. Now, more than ever, developing and keeping up with self care is critical for your health and wellbeing.
On a daily basis, we are causing self-inflicted stress by not making our wellbeing a priority. What does self-inflicted mean? Busy people often do not stop to take time for themselves because they think they don’t have time to.
One day a father was teaching his daughter about priorities. He had a tall, empty jar, some large rocks and some sand. He said to his daughter, “a person who doesn’t have their priorities figured out will fill this jar with sand and then try to fit in the large rocks.” He then demonstrated this action – and sure enough – it didn’t all fit. There was no way to do it without such force that it would break the jar. He then took everything out and separated it again. “But when a person has their priorities figured out, they know that they plan those big priorities first and then everything else falls in place around them.” He then put in the large rocks and poured the sand on top. The sand flowed in and filled in every nook, every crevice surrounding those larger rocks. This is the case with all things in life.
Take a deep breath, and read on to find ways to take a break from the chaos and focus on you.
CREATE TIME IN YOUR DAY FOR MEDITATION OR PRAYER
It sounds silly – but we schedule our lives to the last task of the day. Just like an important meeting you can’t miss, slot a reasonable amount of time into every single day for your wellbeing. You might feel that stress starts to creep up on you in the early afternoon. If so, schedule your prayer or meditation time in the early afternoon. If you don’t think you can meditate or pray for 30 minutes straight, just schedule 5 or 10 minutes a day to start. Caution: Once your scheduled time rolls around, do not tell yourself you’ll do it in 5 minutes.Five minutes will become 10 and 10 minutes turns into never. You owe this to yourself!
CREATE MOMENTS OF BLISS
Do yourself a favor and pamper yourself at home with your favorite mask, do your nails or just sit in the tub. Try not to think about the chaos. Allow your mind to be filled with absolutely nothing. Doesn’t that sound blissful?
If you’d rather take a time-out from home beauty treatments, find something else you love to do. Some people love to read. Some people find peaceful days sitting outside. Some people find their bliss in caring for animals. Whatever it is that brings you to that state of bliss, do it!
JOURNAL IT
What do you envision your perfect life to look like? Write it down. Journaling is a way to transport yourself to your ideal life. Would you be sipping margaritas by the pool? Spending limitless time with your grandkids? Putting yourself in a place where you can be grateful for everything around you literally eases your stress. Plus, some believe that the more time you spend thinking about what you want and feeling gratitude for it as if you already have it, increases your chances of making your dream a reality. Does it work? Well, that remains to be seen, but it’s worth a shot.
E FREE ZONES
Whether you know it or not, your cell phone stresses you out. Some of us are addicted to our devices, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t the vehicles for stress. We read emails from unhappy customers. We respond to scathing staff issues and managerial demands. Our calendars are constantly dinging at us, reminding us over and over about what seem like never-ending tasks. Challenge yourself for at least 30 minutes a day to walk away from all electronics devices.
What are you going to do with all that spare time? Walk the dog, read a book or just allow yourself to daydream. Better yet, spend 30 minutes soaking up some Vitamin D. It doesn’t have to be days or weeks without your phone. Just short breaks to ensure you keep the stress to a minimum.
Self care is important for us all to live a happy and healthy life. Take the time to implement one of these (or more) suggestions or find your own way to put yourself first. Remember: You can’t pour from an empty cup.
Julie Pankey, industry leader and founder of JMPankey Partners, specializes in spa operations, development, training and wellness tourism. She serves as the wellness tourism expert for The B&B Team® and Association of Independent Hospitality Professionals. She is currently serving a three-year term as the Professional Services Commissioner for the National Accrediting Commission of Career Arts and Science, and as the Chair of the Global Wellness Institute Peer to Peer Leadership Training Initiative. Julie is also the founder of SpaHive, the spa and salon industry’s only day-long, in-person business mastermind and online community. Visit: www.jmpankey.com
