Increasing demands forsaking your well-being?

Posted on 30. Oct, 2009 by Susan Wright in Life Coaching

What! It’s Oct 30th! The month has gone by so fast! Catch yourself saying this or noticing how busy life is? It’s no surprise since we live full dynamic lifestyles that demand our energy, time and resources. You give a lot, do a lot and still there’s more. It’s not easy to shut down by 10pm and chill unless you choose to be off-line and inaccessible; even more so, mindfully disengaged from the buzz of life.  As you retreat, you may turn on the TV or read a book  just to find yourself nodding off or hyped up for round two of your day. Second-wind syndrome, sound familiar?

So what do your actions and responses look and feel like when increasing demands keep streaming in? Possibly, you get cranky, overwhelmed, chatty/quiet, disorganized or completely buzzed.  You might just be on the verge of a stress reaction that is totally unsustainable.  Some of us thrive and survive while others just simply shut down after a while; either way, there is a mental, physical and spiritual toll taking place.

So what can you do? Start being strategically mindful of what you can do not to forsake your well-being.  This also implies being aware of when and how you practice health promoting actions and behaviours. It’s not easy to be mindful if you don’t know what to do or have the competence to do it. Start first by noticing what you forsake in your busy lifestyle, i.e. healthy sleep regime, meal preparation, nutrition intake, exercise, relaxation, leisure, fun. I also believe we forsake our relationships, communication and general planning.

By getting clear on the areas or activities of your life that you dismiss or feel it’s just too much effort to bother, is a start.  There are a few ways to get clear. A simple way is to do a daily report for a week. Track and write down everything that you are doing in 24 hours and you’ll start to see your patterns. You’ll begin to notice where your pitfalls are. Many of you can pass over this step since you might already know what you are forsaking and some of you might just say I’m too busy to do this task! If that’s the case then choose one thing you can change, easily and effortlessly.

What is one area in your busy life that you can take some control around and make a simple yet effective change? Here’s some specific actions in the area of health:

• drink a full glass of water instead of coffee in the mid-afternoon every day
• walk or run every other day for 20-30 minutes
• sign up for a class close to work or home
• listen to a relaxation audio for 15-20 minutes
• prepare a meal plan for a week

Just take action and implement the change. Do this consistency until it becomes top of mind and habitual.  There are a number of options to build consistency those being; frequent action, scheduled times, repetition and daily practice. It’s about choosing something that fits within the busy flow of your life and not deviating from it, no matter what.

Any action that you take is created by thought. Being mindful of your well-being and thereby choosing to engage in something positive will create a renewed sense of confidence. That carries forward into all aspects of your busy lifestyle.  So don’t let the demands of life get in the way of being strategic about your health and well-being, it makes sense and cents!

Tags: Busy lifestyles, change, confidence, health, life, lifestyle, Mind Body Spirit, mindful, taking action, well-being