Okay, so I finally took my own advice! Can you guess what happened next? Follow along and I will tell you.
I’ve been writing things with my hands lately. I haven’t done this since high school.
I’m so Type A, I can’t cope with journaling and meditation. My brain just can’t comprehend how it could be beneficial.
But I got to a point where my thoughts were running a million miles a minute and I needed something to let me catch up.
On a call with my coach Jillian, we talked about how you can be driven and you can also be something else as well. It’s not an either/or situation.
The irony is, I literally talk about this in my book. So I’m like, yes. I get it.
I started to think, what’s a really good day for me? The common threads were:
Celebrate. Taking the time to acknowledge what I’ve achieved. Or having fun. Jillian is big on having fun intentionally.
Meditate. Sitting still and being quiet is wicked painful for me, so meditation looks more like stretching or doing yoga, or taking my time in the shower while listening to an audiobook (the acoustics in our bathroom are perfect for this!). Yes, Audrey still walks in half the time. But that’s the joy of being a mom, right? You have to carve out time for yourself.
Educate. This could be listening to a podcast or an audiobook, meeting with a coach or mentor, watching a YouTube video, or consuming course content. As long as it pours knowledge into my brain, I’m good with it.
Communicate. I’m a raging extrovert, so connection is super important to me. It could be getting on a call with a team member, doing a Facebook Live, leading a coaching call, or doing a podcast interview. COVID has definitely shown me how vital it is for me to touch base every day with the outside world.
Activate. This is about my physical health. Did I move my body? If I didn’t get to the gym, could I have a dance party in the living room? What was my nutrition like today? Did I eat vegetables? (For the record, I have the worst sweet tooth ever and eat waaaaay too many treats.) But did I balance it with good things? Did I drink enough water?
When I do these things, I feel good. I yell at my kids less, I’m less stressed out about money, and what’s going on in the world. I can breathe.
This is my version of journaling. Every day, I track these five areas. I check in with myself. Did I do these things? How do I feel? If I don’t feel good, is there a reason? Is something getting in the way of taking care of myself?
A few weeks ago, I had a bad night. I got up at 2:30 am to let the dog out. Then Henry woke up. Then Audrey woke up. Then the dog had to come back in. Then Audrey came to our bed, so I went to hers to try to get some sleep — and failed.
The next day, I hated everyone.
So I asked myself, ”What’s my trigger?” I didn’t get enough sleep. “What am I going to do about it?” Well, I know I’m a light sleeper, I complain about it all the time. But what have I actually done about it? Not a ton. And so I bought an amazing sleep mask, and it’s been super helpful.
For someone who’s never been into journaling and meditation, this approach is really working for me.
I guess I’m finally listening to my own advice.
I felt like meditation wouldn’t work for me, but I wanted the stillness. I wanted that outcome. So I found another way to get it.
What if the thing you don’t want to do is the thing that would help you the most?
Mama, it’s time to try.
P.S. Need a good read? Might I recommend that you check out my book?