How to maintain a sustainable self-care routine as you’re getting crushed by your workload and responsibilities.

admin-matt

Maintaining a sustainable self-care routine and learning how to properly manage your personal resources while navigating a heavy workload and building your business is not only important for your long-term health and success, it’s a must.

Somewhere in our societal and business storyline we began to glorify and make cool the 80 hour work week, surviving off the latest neurotropic hack, and letting our health and wellness go by the wayside for the quest to be successful, make money, and win the business game.

The irony is that most people lose their health while building their empire, and then use the money they made to repair their health again when they now “have the time” to do so . It doesn’t take someone with mastery level understanding of health, economics, and business to know that doesn’t make a ton of sense. I imagine that if you’re into starting or growing a business, you’re also into efficiency, sustainability, and proper management of resources. If that’s the case, why wouldn’t you apply the same principles you adhere to business – for yourself. I believe that the ultimate and most sustainable quest is to dedicate yourself to the discipline and practice of holding both the business and yourself with at least equal importance.

Hear me clearly! I’m into hard work, grinding, and occasionally getting out of balance in order to move the needle forward, as long as you’re doing what you can to consistently recalibrate yourself to get back to balance and cultivate the resources and energy you need to keep disease from taking over body, mind, and spirit.

Over the past 20 years I’ve had the privilege to study with some of the best holistic health and wellness professionals in their respective fields. I embarked on this journey first by interest, and then by need, and now by passion. I’ve been working with these concepts, practices, and methods as a quest to find out what works, what doesn’t work, what’s true, and what’s full of sh*t. I’ve also learned that many people don’t want to put in as much time as I do, nor do they care about certain things as much as I do – but still hold health at some level of importance. It’s from my own journey in health and business that I share with you these tips on how to manage yourself in a way that is life affirming – all while growing and scaling your company in a fast paced word.

The first place to start is by making sure the foundation is laid, and that you connect into what it is that’s actually important to you, what’s influencing that from happening, and how you want to move forward to attain what that is. Sit down, reflect, and get current on what your beliefs, values, principles, and desires are specifically in the areas that will directly influence your overall health. This includes the following:

Physical needs (nutrition, hydration, movement, sleep)
Time, Rhythm, and Spatial needs (flow of your day, alone time, allocation of time resources)
Mental Health Needs: (being aware of your inner dialogue, feeding your mind healthy thoughts)
Family, cultural, and society needs: (support, diversity, types of people you want to be around)
Financial needs: (how much money you need to feel safe)

Once you have identified as much in each of these areas as possible, now you have your target of what you’re actually going after. So many people miss this step and just go for “ more”, but never really get “there”, because there doesn’t exist.

Once you’ve got your roadmap, the second step is to look at where you are in relation to your targets. If you’ve identified one of your needs being 45 minutes of active movement 4 times a week, and you haven’t worked out in 6 months, let that inform what your strategy is for meeting that need of yours. So, instead of going for 4 days a week, maybe start with 2 days and add one day after you have successfully met your goal for 5 consecutive weeks. Physiologically it’s important to train our brain to trust in our commitments. If you set your target at 4 days per week and only meet it for the first week, then you’re sending a message to your subconscious that you can’t trust in your commitments. Don’t train yourself to not trust yourself. Get solid successful reps (even if the target is closer than being a (BHAG) big hairy audacious goal, and build trust, confidence and momentum in your commitment. Make 1% improvements each day and commit to the long game.

The next step is looking to see where you need any professional help or other resources to accomplish your goal. For example, if you want to eat “healthier” and have no idea how to cook, maybe look into some organic meal delivery kits that can be delivered to your house. Or even better yet, take a cooking class! You’ll need to shore up the big gaps in knowledge and access to resources that you know will prevent you from what it is that you have deemed important for your overall health and wellbeing.

Once those steps are complete, find someone who can support your process, and keep you accountable – if that’s a tactic that you know works for you. Having an accountability buddy is a great way to protect yourself from yourself if you know you have a hard time with follow through and discipline.

The last piece is to make a commitment to yourself and as the most successful slogan of all time says, “just do it”.

Keep in mind that everyone is very unique and has specific things that they need and work for them. With that in mind, here are a few specific tips to keep in mind as you’re committing to taking care of yourself more than you ever have.

1. Connect with Nature

This one is often overlooked and undervalued. Spending time outdoors has profound benefits for your well-being. Nature walks, gardening, or simply sitting in a park can ground you, reduce stress, and improve your mood. Getting your bare feet on the ground can “ground” your system and relax your nervous system. Sunlight exposure helps regulate sleep patterns and boosts vitamin D levels, which are crucial for overall health. Aim to spend at least 20-30 minutes outside each day to reap these benefits.

2. Watch your stinking thinking:

ie, stay conscious of the thoughts running in your head 24/7.
Your mindset plays a crucial role in your overall well-being. Practice gratitude by acknowledging and appreciating all the positive aspects of your life. Surround yourself with supportive people who uplift you and encourage a positive outlook.

3. Prioritize sleep first, then nutrition and exercise equally.

As a society, we’re chronically underslept. The amount of stress that not sleeping enough (or getting quality rest) plays on the body is mind blowing. It’s hard to find one function of the body, or one system of the body that’s not directly affected by sleep. Most people when embarking on getting “healthier” start with exercise – and then food, but don’t give much time and attention to sleep.

4. Make it a lifestyle:

It’s awesome to put your resources for a bit to taking care of yourself in ways you haven’t before. Seriously, 4 gold stars! And…. do what you can to make it a lifestyle. If you want to go for the gold, and be as healthy as you are successful professionally – make sure to take and protect your health with you as you continue to build your empire.

Remember that all of this can be fun, and have massive benefits not only for you, but for your family, your employees, your partners, and the world. When you are more alive, happier, healthier, confident, and grounded, everything in your world feels it and is affected by it in amazing ways.

Cheers and enjoy the journey,

Matt

How to maintain a sustainable self-care routine as you’re getting crushed by your workload and responsibilities.

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