It’s only December 2nd, and with a mere 23 days
left until Christmas, I can already feel my stress levels rising. Is it me or
is there simply not enough time in the day to get everything done? Getting
everything done, ha! That’s almost as much of an oxymoron as work-life
balance. The reality is that we will not
get everything done, and we need to be at peace with that. Instead of stressing
about getting everything done, we need to take a deep breath and refocus our
energy on what matters most.
When push comes to shove and we’re prioritizing our daily to
do lists, does our health matter most? Does eating right, exercising,
meditation/prayer/reflection become the very last items on your list that usually get
task forwarded to tomorrow?
Over the years I have learned just how critical it is to
take care of myself- my health depends on it. Everything I mentioned above,
eating right, exercising, meditation/prayer/reflection- they are like medicine to me. Being well, both mentally and physically helps me to mediate my
trigeminal neuralgia symptoms. So even though I need to work, take care of my
kids, spouse, household duties, volunteer responsibilities, and the added
holiday pressures of shopping, cooking, cleaning, visiting, hosting, decorating- I must
still find a way to carve out wellness time just for me- and you do too! No,
you don’t need to carve out time for me, but for y-o-u!
We’ve all heard the cliché “in the case of a flight emergency,
you must put on your own oxygen mask before you help the person next to you.” We
need to be able to breathe to maintain that hectic schedule of ours, or just
like the plane, we’re going to crash and burn. Taking the time to be well
boosts our immune systems (especially critical during cold and flu season),
increases our energy levels and reduces the release of distress induced hormones such as cortisol and adrenalin.
So how do we not let
the holiday ho-ho-ho’s ruin our wellness mo-jo?
1) Schedule in some wellness
time. Treat your appointment with the gym, a meditation download or spiritual book
as a non-negotiable appointment. There is no reason why we cannot take thirty minutes
for ourselves, every single day. What we value is where we spend our time. Invest
in yourself so that you can invest in others. To do this, you will have to
embrace #2.
2) Learn to say no.
This is the most difficult time of year to say that one little word. Everyone
wants a piece of us. Already this week I have said no to two social events and
I’m just fine with it. My friends and family know that I still love them and
want to be with them. No-one is going to
want to hang out with me when I’m overextended, tired, sick or cranky.
3) Take short cuts.
I have dedicated full blog posts to this- I am a perfectionist. Everything I do
has to be done just right and a certain way. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
When my daughter was younger, she belonged to a certain gymnastics team. The
team asserted that the baked goods for the meets must be home made. Hells- no
no to the ho ho! I will not be made to feel less than because I had to buy
baked goods, you got your baked goods and mine came from Giant- got it?
Mission accomplished. OK, so this was many many years ago, in the words of
Frozen, I’m letting it go. For some reason, especially during this holiday season, we
put unrealistic expectations on ourselves and others. Everything has to be done
just so (I blame Martha Stewart). Do your best with what you have on hand and
move to #4.
4) Delegate. When in a supervisory role, I was an effective
delegator. I realized that this was crucial to the success of my team and
department. I needed to understand my and my team member’s strengths and
weaknesses and delegate tasks out accordingly to achieve maximum productivity.
At home, I am not the best at this. This goes back to the perfectionist gene-
nobody does it quite like me. However, I have come to realize that I simply
cannot do it all and stay well. I need to ask for help. Things might not get
done the way I want them to, but they get done!
5) Plan and prepare. Usually
when we’re overloaded, planning and preparation go out the window. I know that
your weekends from now through the new year are most likely over scheduled and a
blur. Is it feasible that you take a few hours from Saturday and Sunday to set yourself
up for a successful week ahead? For me this means having a house stocked with
healthy groceries and having a general idea of my meal plan for the week so
that I can make a few meals ahead or at least prep them (with the help of my
husband of course). I have also found that taking ten minutes each evening to
map out the day I have ahead of me helps tremendously. I look at the next day
and evening. Then I figure out how I’m going to manage to eat well,
squeeze in some activity and prayer. Sometimes
this leads to shuffling around events (if possible), delegating or even
saying no.
When I lay my head down on my pillow at night and have my
quiet time with God, it’s not often that I thank him for the gift of a painful
neurological illness that can pop up whenever it so pleases and ruin my best laid plans. However I do thank
him for my life and for the gift of another day and I do my best to make the
most of it. For me this means looking for a positive in my illness. My neuralgia has forced me to live well, to want to be well, on the good and bad days.
Remember, God has given you the gift of life- take the time
to slow down and handle it with care- it is precious cargo and the only one you've got.
Make the choice. Commit to the choice. Ask for help.
Continue with courage.
Hugs and Friendship,
Tara
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