Hello.
I hope this message finds you well today.
And if not,
I hope you're better after our conversation.
Today I want to remind you of you.
That's right.
You.
We often spend so much time every single day taking care of our family,
Our friends,
Our coworkers,
Our neighbors,
Et cetera.
And really,
We just take time out to take care of ourself when we have planned paid time off or a family vacation.
And we all know that some time of vacation is work,
But when's the last time you stopped and just did a body scan,
A body scan,
Meaning that from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet,
You just feel where there's tightness,
Where there's tension,
Where it feels good,
Where it's flexible,
Where it's relaxed and give your body what it needs.
Our bodies talk to us every single day,
But sometime we're on autopilot.
We just jump out of bed,
Get coffee or tea or whatever our thing is,
Go to the gym.
And then we just get things checked off just to go to bed and we just rush.
But what's the rush to?
We're all headed in the same direction in life.
I know that may seem weird or morbid,
But it's not.
If you put it in perspective and we really think about what we're rushing towards,
Then we find out that there's no need to rush.
I'll say it again.
There's no need to rush.
And I'm not saying if you have a doctor's appointment or an obligation that you don't get there on time as scheduled because you're a committed person.
I'm saying if you think about things every single day,
You should be putting it into a box of what's urgent and important,
What's not urgent and important,
What's important and not urgent and what's neither,
Not important or not urgent.
And if you do that every single day,
You'll find out that maybe if I miss this one thing and I get some rest,
That's a good exchange.
Or if you're tired,
You say,
That's my body telling me I need to rest,
Not naturally go for a Red Bull.
Or if you're around people that you really don't want to be around and there's no work or school or church community obligation,
That it's okay to say no and no is a complete sentence.
It's okay that if you cook every day for your family and there's one day where you just don't want to,
You're not a bad person.
You can just say,
We're going to eat pizza or,
Hey,
We're going to eat leftovers.
My whole point of having this conversation with you is just to gently remind you that it's okay to choose yourself.
It is not selfish.
And I'm preaching to myself because I'm a people pleaser.
I'm a doer and not in a bad way.
I love to see other people happy.
It edifies me.
It makes me happy,
But it's not sustainable.
It's not fair.
It's not equitable.
And so I also challenge you to talk to your family,
Friends,
Anybody that you may cohabitate with.
If you're doing a majority of the things,
It's okay to say,
Hey,
I've done a body scan.
I've done a mental check of what I do on a regular basis.
How about on Monday,
Wednesday,
And Friday,
I take out the trash and the other days you do.
How about instead of me cooking every day,
Let me tell you or show you how to do some simple meals.
Or those may be the days we eat out.
It may be,
You know what,
I'm going to go on a walk every single day to get better sleep,
To reduce stress and to work and move my body.
Whatever it is that works for you,
Do it.
And then make sure you let everybody else know there's going to be some changes.
So I can gear things that help me towards me.
And if I have a chance to be better for myself,
Then guess what?
I can be better for you.
So again,
Take care of you.
You're born in this world by yourself.
You will leave this body by yourself.
You're the person that you talk to the most in your life.
You're the person that you'll spend the most time in this lifespan.
So in all things that you do today,
Put you on the calendar.
Schedule some you time.
That's not just paid time off.
That's not just vacation.
That's not just family time,
But you time.
May you be well.
May you take care of yourself.
And may this message make a difference in your life.
Be well.
