Ladies, we inundate our lives with ‘things’ and ’lists’....obligatory activities we THINK we need to do to be considered relevant, important, and needed but we often fail to see how those things suck the LIFE out of us and the time that we have to do the things we really want to do.
You’ll hear me say all the time “I ain’t got time for that stress in my life”.....and it’s true. In fact being a busy NYer I have had to fully embrace the idea of a not-to-do list, a set of non negotiables I will NOT involve myself in because it does not align with my personal values.
Whether you are a new mom, college student, caregiver for a parent or child with different needs, or a busy female entrepreneur you WILL experience a time where you will be handed a whole lotta responsibility. You’ll take it all on because the ego kicks in, but here’s what starts to happen…….
-You dig in and go hard.
-You start losing sleep.
-You get handed more responsibility….but still can’t say no.
-You start snippin’ at your friends and loved ones because you’re tired.
-You fall apart and pray for 10 mins to hide in the bathroom or in a tiny home in a far away park.
Sound familiar?
It’s called Burnout! I’ve personally experienced it in college, grad school, at work, as a parental caregiver and in business and trust me it ain’t pretty. I think it’s safe to say you clearly don’t believe it’s healthy to keep engaging in things that you really dread.
So why is this list so important?
Your Stress Decreases: Proclaiming your non negotiables in your not-to-do list allows you to honor yourself and your values at all times vs being stress out trying to engage in things that others deem more important than you do.
You REGAIN Time: Every stressed out female is so easily able to claim “I need more time’ but having a clear set of not-to-do items not only opens up more time in your day but allows you to avoid ‘feeling bad’ about not engaging in things that don’t align with how you want to spend your precious time.
The Big Pic
Letting go of the feels that you have to be the end all do all superhero woman will allow you to really embrace your true strengths and skills and give you time to enjoy with family and friends without all the stress.
For me, it’s given me power back to know I don’t have to do all the things to be deemed worthy as a woman and that my mental and physical health is just as important as the rest of the families. From a business standpoint it has allowed my business to thrive, connecting me with others who were further able to help me leverage my time while earning those dollar dollar bills!
It’s kinda funny because there is so much stress trying to DO everything but sometimes you just have to be ok with knowing there are things you DO NOT want to master at the present time.
Do you deal with excessive stress or anxiety?
While there are many medications that can help address stress and anxiety there are also SO many natural methods that you can try too. Cultivating a lifestyle in which you take some time to breathe and meditate is way better than poppin’ some pills with side effects! Here’s a few reasons why meditation may be something you add to your routine!
Reduce Inflammatory Responses: When we are in constant states of stress. Cortisol, one of our main stress hormones, goes into overdrive creating a hijack situation to the emotional centers of our brain like the amygdala -creating more inflammatory responses in the body. (clearly something we don’t want ladies).
I’m that girl who's always on the go but while in lockdown I, like many of you, were forced to slow down and chill. While some of my friends stressed out listening to the news, I noticed big differences in my stress levels simply after taking 5-10 minutes throughout the day to quietly breathe.
Improve Focus and Attention: Anyone else struggling in this area??: (Raises both hands sky high!!) My mind wanders all the time. Gone are the days of me making fun of those peeps using Post-it Notes for everything. I'm now that girl-sorry if I previously made fun of ya’ (I now see the struggle is real).
Taking time to meditate not only helps reduce stress but can also help improve your attention. In a world where we are CONSTANTLY bombarded with information I think we could all agree that a little more focus would be good….can I get an AMEN!
Emotional Health: As a PT I was trained to focus on the physical aspect of health with a teeny bit of nutritional education. Nowadays I focus primarily on emotional health as a means to attain the true health goals so many seek. Mindset and mindfulness is everyTHANG!
An often ignored part of our healthcare system, our emotional health can be a HUGE predictor of our ability to fight off DIS-ease.
Neurochemicals released in the body that respond to stress can have direct effects on a person’s mood and lead to things like depression. I’ve found that meditation helps improve my overall mood, leaving me with a more positive outlook and better self image. There are even studies out there showing meditation helping to lessen the effects of depression (¹ )
BOTTOM LINE:
If you are struggling with focus, attention, mood, stress or just want to add some emotional wellness practices into you and your families life there are so many ways you can choose to start your meditation journey. These are just some of the many reasons I decided to start and trust me this is a process still in the works. Most important is that you consider giving it a try for at min 14-21 days before you write it off. You may truly start to discover why they say “You are what you think”!
Want more tips on how to manage stress…..check out my some of my fav stress busting tips here.
