Big Idea #1: Self-care and Fundamentals

Do you ever find yourself putting everyone else first, and totally forgetting about self-care? It can sometimes feel like we need to put all of our energy forth towards others in order to best serve them. But taking care of our own needs and fundamentals is essential to be our best self for other people. It isn’t selfish to make self-care an important part of your life; in fact, the complete opposite is true! Taking care of ourselves gives us the ability to be our best selves for others.

Self-care is essentially whatever you need to do to best love and take care of yourself. It may be time alone spent reading or meditating, or going to spend time in nature. It might be exercise, eating healthfully or spending time with nourishing people. We’re all different, and have different ways to take care of ourselves. The commonality is that nourishing our own mind, body and spirit will benefit not just us, but those around us who we want to serve.

So ask yourself:

What would it look like if I gave myself more self-care?

Maybe your life would be enjoyable. So what does that mean? Look at what’s underneath your need for self-care. Maybe you’d feel more inspired, more positive and energized, and be able to make a bigger impact on people. Really look at the “why” behind the self-care.

Then ask yourself: what does it look like when self-care isn’t there?

Not such a pretty picture, is it? Maybe there’s overwhelm, stress, and a feeling of being weighed down. See how self-care is so crucial to helping you be your best for yourself and others?

The most fulfilled life will come when we are in service to something larger than ourselves. We often see a paradox: when we are taking care of ourselves and nourishing our fundamental needs, we are able to give and serve abundantly. When we deplete our own needs for the sake of others, we can’t give effectively, so nobody benefits.

Big Idea #2: Getting Specific on “The Why” and Goal-Setting

When it comes to making changes in our lives, it’s really important to get clear on the “why” behind them. Why are we making the changes that we make in our lives? How would this choice affect us and the people around us? And how would we be affected if we didn’t make that choice?

Having a good sense of why we’re doing something is what allows us to stick with it as things get tough. The “why” gives us a reason and a conviction to stay on a particular path. It’s easy to become inspired to start something, but being clear on the “why” is what helps us stay on the process of creation and growth. It’s not enough to just know you want to do something. This may start an initial change, but sustaining that change requires conviction about your “why.”

When it comes to goals, most of us want to actually achieve them rather than just think and talk about them. What we know about the science of goal setting is that the likelihood of achieving a goal doubles when we set a specific time to do the task.

When we get specific about our goals, we really increase the chance that we’re going to get them done. Put the task in your schedule, write it down, make a real commitment. Make it clear what you’re going to do, and when you’re going to do it, and pretty soon you’ll be feeling great about getting it done. And chances are, achieving that goal will leave you feeling even more motivated about the next one.

Check out the book “Succeed” by Heidi Halvorson for some great ideas and wisdom on the science of achieving goals.

Big Idea #3: Channeling Feelings of Overwhelm

How can we channel overwhelm when we have a lot on our plate at one time? When we’re doing things we’re inspired about, there can be a lot to deal with, and not a clear place to start. Our heads can start spinning with everything we have to, and everyone we have to please… and things can just feel crazy.

A great place to start when dealing with feeling overwhelmed is back at the basics: with self-care. Whatever we need to do to rock our fundamentals, these things will help us feel like we can better manage the many things going on in our lives. Spend some time meditating, slowing down, doing yoga and nourishing your body. Everything else can wait… really! You’ll be far more prepared to take care of all those tasks that need to get done.

Remember that you don’t need to do everything. As long as you are doing the things that matters most, that’s what’s most important. Trying to check off every single item on the to-do list will always spin you into feeling overwhelmed! But what if you just focused on the 5 most important items on that list? That probably feels more possible, and will end up being a lot more effective towards your goals.

HW + Action Steps!

As always, we’d love for you to share your personal favorite takeaways in the private Facebook group.