I want to talk to you today about a topic that I am currently living out this week as we speak…
How to stay sane, grounded and calm during your busiest times.
One thing about life / business is that things always ebb and flow. There are times for pushing hard toward our goals, and times for slowing down and going inward. Times when things feel calm and under control, and times when things feel insane and totally crazy.
In my business, I have accepted that there are a few times per year when things are just SUPER crazy, and as organized and on top of things as I am, I can’t avoid the craziness of these times.
Instead, I just surrender, ride the crazy wave, and do my best to support myself through my self-care practices.
As many of you know, I am about to run my first 4-Day Retreat here in NYC starting this week. I have never run a retreat on my own before, so this has been challenging me in so many new ways.
While I’m so excited, I’ve also noticed myself feeling incredibly overwhelmed at times, very stressed, and like I could crack under the pressure of holding this kind of event.
But, I’ve really been okay.
I’ve flailed around a bit, trying to learn how to support myself during this busy time, but I have found my footing.
You see, it’s okay to FLAIL. That usually happens when you’re trying something you’ve never done before and you don’t know what you’re doing.
And it’s on the journey from FLAILING to finding your FOOTING, that you learn deeper forms of your own personal self-care. You learn how to support your growth, your risk-taking, your new set of challenges.
I want to share with you how I have found my footing during a time when I was flailing. I came into this Retreat experience having no idea what I would need to support myself, but I figured it out along the way.
Here’s what has helped me stay sane, calm, and grounded during a really busy time:
– Sleep. For me, sleep always needs to be prioritized. Without a good night sleep, I don’t feel like myself. So during the weeks leading up to the Retreat, I defended my 8 hours like it was my job. I did a lot of what I share in this post every night.
–Very, very basic healthy food. When I am busy, I don’t have much time to think about food. It’s important that we know the basic meals that make us feel good so we can strip it down and just rely on those. For me, I would batch cook brown rice, large pieces of salmon, large pots of braised greens, a big pan of sweet potatoes, etc. It was really just basics: carbs, veggies, protein, fats. Breakfasts have been quick smoothies and lunches are either out or dinner leftovers. I’ve also watched my sugar intake because I know that since I am already running a bit low on energy, I can’t afford to let sugar impact my energy further. I still eat chocolate every day, but it’s just something I have been conscious of from an energy perspective.
– Canceling plans. I’ve had to cancel plans a few times, especially in the past two weeks, because I could feel that I really needed to conserve my energy for the things I needed to get done. While my brain thought I could handle everything, my body was clearly telling me NO. Canceling is hard for me – it’s not the act of canceling (I know people will understand), but it’s the decision to cancel that always feels like a big step for me. It’s about following my intuition and truly listening to myself, which is sometimes hard to do!
– Keeping the right plans. On that same note, nobody can “work” 24/7 and we ALL need pleasure and fun in our lives, daily. I have been really conscious of making sure I scheduled in plenty of times to see friends and family or do something that shut my work brain off for a bit. It’s so important to disconnect, even during super busy times.
– Pleasure 🙂 Duh! Even during my busiest of times, I never stop scheduling in pleasure. It may look different during these phases – pleasure moments may be much more subtle – but they are still so important. Pleasure moments lately have been watching a great movie while I sip a delicious healthy peppermint hot chocolate tonic, going for a walk outside, 15 minutes of candlelight yoga in my apartment before bed, giving myself permission to peruse the internet aimlessly for 20 minutes in between to-do’s, laughing whenever possible. It’s the little things!
– RECEIVING support. So many people have gone above and beyond to offer their support to me around this Retreat. However, it’s so easy for us to reject support. We can easily say “thanks! I’ll let you know if I need anything”, but then we literally never consider their support again. I realized how much amazing support was being offered, and I have been trying to take that in, even if just emotionally. Even if I don’t ask them to help me, I have been meditating on how SUPPORTED I really am. It has helped me feel like I am not in this alone, and like I have this web of love and support around me.
– Getting spiritual. It’s easy for us to feel like we have to do something all by ourselves, and we forget to ask for guidance. Whenever I have felt really stressed or a lot of pressure, I pray, ask for help, and invite in something greater than my limited thinking. This always gives me so much reassurance and reminds me that even though I think I can “think my way” through anything and control everything, that’s just not the case. Life has so much magic to offer beyond what we can think up. Give it a try and see what happens. 🙂
– WORK HARD + Then STOP. Someone gave me a brilliant suggestion to work my butt off, but to give myself a deadline, and after that deadline, to step away. At that point, I have to trust that I’ve done enough, and I need to relax and recenter before the Retreat. I thought this was brilliant — I didn’t want to go into the Retreat with my “to-do list”, masculine energy driving the show, and I knew it would be wise to take a day off before the Retreat to get back to myself and my heart. So, as you’re reading this, I am on my day off before the Retreat begins tomorrow! I booked a massage, a hot yoga class, and dinner with one of my best friends. I am spending the day getting out of my HEAD and back into my HEART so that I can go into the Retreat tomorrow from THAT space.
– Schedule Recovery. One thing my coach has always taught me is to schedule in recovery after a big push. So, the week following the Retreat, I am taking 3 days off. Even though it’s not always possible to do this, recovery can look as simple as taking a night in with Netflix and a face mask, or getting a massage, or sleeping in one day. Just do something to actively create space for recovery. Your body, mind and soul needs it after a big push!
So those are just a few ways that I’ve been caring for myself as I prep for this Retreat. It’s a brand new endeavor for me, and as such, it has been a big learning experience. I’ve gone through periods of flailing around feeling out of control, and then digging deep into my self-care in order to find my footing.
It’s through these moments that we really see what we are made of and learn how to support ourselves in even deeper ways.
I hope this helps you if you’re going through a particularly busy time.
I’ll catch you on the flipside of this Retreat. I hope you have a great week / weekend until then!
Love,
Jamie
