You get up early. You work hard. You stay focused on your goal. You do everything right. You are there for people relying on you. You are an inspiring role model. You take time to help others and quickly cancel your own agenda when someone needs you. When everyone has been taken care of, you are often exhausted and you have no more energy to do what YOU really want which becomes either going to bed or chill in front of the television as your “productive” hours have been given to everyone else and now you have nothing left for yourself.
This year at Thanksgiving, will you remember the most important person? It is a widely spread tradition to give thanks and pay gratitude to the people that make our life beautiful! This year, how about you also include the most important person in your life? YOU!
Yes, you are the most important person in your life. Even though you sometimes feel that everyone else is more important, that you give the best of yourself to others and usually run out of time to do what you want or take care of your priorities.
Take some time this weekend to look at your life and be grateful for all the amazing things about you. What do you love about who you are? How can you practice a little more self-care. When in your life can you find time for yourself? Can you schedule some non-negotiable time in your busy agenda for YOU? Are you scheduling time to be grateful for your own personal assistant in your head, executing your orders? Telling your inside voice that you love it when it fills you with energy and positive self-talk? Are you taking time to celebrate when you achieve even a small goal?
Yes, be grateful for everyone in your life and make sure you also start with being grateful for YOU. You are awesome and you deserve a celebration!
As I am writing this, I am too choosing to set up time in my schedule for myself. One of the concrete example that I commit to integrate in my schedule is to plan two free days after my speaking engagements.
The first day after a big contract is spent closing my file, following up on the contacts made with the audience, sending a thank you email to the organizers, reviewing the comments, survey, etc. In the past, I had to do all of this while having a full day packed with clients and would end up exhausted and not really being my best.
From now on, I will spend the first day doing my follow up and block my day completely to allow myself that time.
I will also block a second day which I will spend with my husband. Usually during the week leading to a speaking engagement, I am pretty much invisible. I don’t get to see my husband much nor do any “fun” stuff. So the second day after a speaking engagement, I will spend celebrating with my husband, enjoy quality time and do something fun to clear my head.
Then, on the third day, I will revert to opening my schedule for clients, meetings, emails, writing, etc.
Well, I guess that now that I have committed to doing this publicly, I will stick with it! Do the same. Send me a short email to share with me what you will be doing. What will it be for you?
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!