“๐ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐๐ก ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐ญ๐๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ๐, ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ก ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ก, ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง ๐ข๐ญ’๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐จ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฉ. ๐ ๐ง๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ง ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค ๐จ๐ง ๐๐!”
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Ahhh…well there lies the problem!
Gotta reframe how we envision and approach self-care, or the many ways in which we take care of ourselves and work at shaping the version of ourselves that we’re becoming with each next day.
Self care is not an hour a day that you slot out a few days per week.
I mean, it can be, but that is sort of just ‘extra’.
Self-care, the sort of self-care that involves habits and choices and actions and behaviors that are aligned with feeling good, looking good, longevity, good health markers….that sort of self-care is an ongoing thing.
Self-care and that routine, is cruise control keeping you going the speed limit on the interstate on a long road trip, and the extra bigger efforts or big blocks of time are those rare situations where you accelerate out of cruise control to pass someone, only to lock cruise control back in and stay there for 90% of your journey.
Self-care can and should happen pretty much ongoing during your day to day life. Yes, even during your totally non-glamorous routine times:
-WHILE you are shuttling your kids around from one field to the next
-WHILE you are bogged down with meetings and calls and working on all those deliverables
-WHILE you are home taking care of your sick kiddo, or spouse, or your self
-WHILE you are living the daily grind trying to keep all the balls in the air with work and family and social activities
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At first thought the prospect of adding more to any of those bullet points may seem daunting, but the main thing to remember is that a great routine/set of habits designed to help you take care of your body and your health will be a set or series of *small* things.
Things that if done singularly, may be dismissed as too small to really matter much.
Things that if done in conjunction with one another, can make a massive difference in the body of health you are either living in, or not.
The beauty of this ‘little things stack’ is that because we’re leveraging all of these being used together, no one or two of them require a ton of time, effort, or energy. You CAN layer them into your day to day life, adding more as proficiency is developed, and truly feel how powerful the right little things can become when working together for your benefit.
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The folks around you in the shape you aspire to be in, likely don’t have 3-4 workouts or massively healthy meals per week that have them in that shape. Those things are great, but they are the tip of the iceberg you can see, and really what has them in the shape they’re in are the 90% of the iceberg below the surface of the water, that you cannot see.
Those folks likely have a set of 5-10 ‘things’ they focus on, ongoing, all through their day, that make it so they DON’T have to go to any extremes or set aside hours of time a few days a week specifically for them, while hiding from all of their life’s responsibilities.
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The right set of habits and routines will propel you forward on your best days, and enable you to hold the line on your worst days.
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Do you have a strong set of foundational habits that are serving you?
