Category: <span>Self care</span>

Tips for Transitioning after the Pandemic

Hope you all are well and getting outside to enjoy some of this Spring weather.  As my blog readers know, getting outside in nature to relax and renew is an important part of self-care. Don’t miss the Spring! And as we transition from Winter to Spring, it’s a good time to consider the transition to the world after the Pandemic. Recently, SIYLI (Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute) conducted a global survey that included 59 countries. In that survey, 85% of respondents reported that Emotional Intelligence skills were critical for the present and in the near future for all of us, personally and professionally!  We need now, more than ever, to deepen our human, heart-centered skills to make some big transitions.  Check out this article from SIYLI! Here are the article highlights and some excellent tips: Many of us are probably feeling a mixture of both excitement and anxiety about returning to (a new version of) “normal” life.  The future we are shaping will require authenticity and vulnerability—pillars that we collectively strengthened over this last year.  Human-centered skills like mindfulness and emotional intelligence can support our re-entry process. These skills support us to reflect on what we learned. Then, we can integrate those lessons …

Empathy in the Caring Professions

by Marguerite Ham Balancing Empathy and Burnout I recently read an interesting article in Quartz about the possibility that empathy could cause exhaustion and burnout. This can happen to anyone, but particularly to people in professions which involve caring for people in distress: the ill, the bereaved, the mentally ill, or people in a life crisis. There are three different types of empathy. All of them are part of emotional intelligence: Cognitive empathy means you intellectually understand other peoples’ persepectives and what language would be most effective in communicating with them. Emotional empathy is feeling what the other person feels — which can, in some cases, be too much for us to bear. Empathic concern makes us want to help people in need. We need to look out for “empathy distress,” which happens when we absorb too much of the negative emotions of others. This is widespread in today’s COVID-19 pandemic, even in non-caring professions. Imagine how easy it is for someone in a caring profession, like funeral service or medicine, to slip into this condition! Self-care for empathy distress You can help yourself avoid empathy distress with a good self-care regimen and exercising the self-management part of emotional intelligence. …

5 Steps to Becoming More Productive Working from Home

Since the start of the Pandemic, we have found our selves working from home more often.  From conversations with many of my clients, I have found that they are struggling with focus while working from home, getting things done efficiently & timely, and integrating home and work life successfully.  Here are 5 Steps to help you save time and work more efficiently from home. 1. Create a routine Since many of us are no longer commuting to work every day and working from home, use that “commute time” to transition into work mode.  Create a routine.  I recently had a Zoom call with my brother, Bob, and I noticed he was in a dress shirt and jacket.  He is currently working from home 100%.  I asked him about his formal clothing and why was that necessary if he was working from home?  He said, “I never changed my morning routine, I get up every day, Monday – Friday and follow my same routine as if I was going into the office, including getting into my work clothes.  The routine and clothing are part of my mindset, that says, ‘it’s time to work’.”  What is your morning routine that says, “it’s …

Anxiety is Manageable – Reduce it Quickly

Anxiety can creep up the thermometer quickly and throw us into an emotional spiral of fear or uncertainty. Anxiety can paralyze our ability to think and make decisions, especially during trying times like these. A hamster wheel of rumination can start spinning inside of our heads. It distracts us from being able to lead effectively, make important decisions, and be the example our staff members need.  There are several techniques that you can quickly use to reduce the anxiety and get you back on track! Here are some ideas for you to try. Give them a chance and see what works for you. Here is another resource that just came in from The Chopra Center: “6 Ways to Reduce Anxiety and Make a Paradigm Shift.”    Acknowledge What You Are Feeling Increasing awareness, acknowledging what you are feeling and talking about it out loud with a trusted friend, colleague, or coach can release pressure immediately. Those of you who have had coaching most likely have experienced relief simply from verbalizing what is bothering you. Something magical occurs for us as humans, when we verbalize, out loud, what is bothering us. It truly helps for our own mind to hear, in …

Finding Balance in an Unbalanced World

I recently read a book, Breaking the Trust Barrier, by JV Venable —  an excellent book; I highly recommend it!  One of the topics it touched on was creating balance in our lives.  The author, a former commander and demonstration leader of the USAF’s elite demonstration team, the Thunderbirds, suggested a way to monitor our life balance through the “Pillars of Life”.  His Pillars of Life are: Faith Family Friends Health Work If one of the five is out of balance, it will affect the others in some way, and the pillars eventually start crumbling!  How to Know if Balance is Missing in Your Life Most of us are “busy being busy” and rarely take the time to reflect on these five key areas to monitor our life balance.  I have been training and coaching people in organizations for over 30 years, and I continue to consistently hear: I am so tired I feel like I am burned out I don’t have time to breathe I never have enough time for “me” I wish I could take a vacation by myself and disconnect I am not sleeping well My tank is so empty I have nothing to give my family …

5 Tips for Holiday Self-Care

Holidays are advertised as joyful times, but they can be tremendously stressful when you’re the one tasked with creating joy for others! Take care of yourself to take care of others. One: Give Yourself Permission to Take Care of Yourself Say “No” when you need to. Set boundaries Find time for yourself A moment of self-reflection Treat yourself to a massage Go for a walk BREATHE – Use a 3 minute breathing meditation to center. Take a few minutes and simply take a few deep breaths (when we are stressed we tend to breathe shallowly.  When you get ramped up about traffic, lines, scurrying around – breathe through it! If you like phone apps, find a meditation app and load it so you can take a break while on the go, when you need it most. Ask yourself:  What do I want most from this holiday season? What is most important to me? What traditions are most important to me? Who do I really want to spend time with? Two: Involve all of Your Senses Be present wherever you are: Sitting in traffic – put some calming or upbeat music (whatever that is for you:  Christmas music, Jazz, Classical, Rock) …

Apathy … Sooner or Later

Sooner or later, Apathy strikes!  It may show up in our personal lives, and it may show up in our professional lives.  And, as we know, if we have a personal challenge it can, and most likely will, creep into our professional lives as well.  So, it is important to be self-aware of when you are having these feelings and dig into their root cause.  By definition, apathy is where we feel a lack of motivation, incentive, and enthusiasm, not just for work, but for many areas in our lives.  Typically, many factors contribute to these feelings, including circumstances and conditions around us.  When we succumb to some of the negative aspects of these circumstances, we tend to lose hope. Self awareness is key Here are some root causes of apathy, that may be contributing to your personal feelings: Stress Disappointment Difficulty in reaching personal and/or professional goals Loss of faith in yourself or others My research shows that if one does not identify the root cause and move through it, apathy can lead to deeper, more destructive feelings like guilt, shame and self-pity.  That is not where we want to go!  Apathy is a temporary state of being – …

Sleep Deprived??? 8 Ways to Get Better Rest and Change Your Life

Are you among the millions of sleep-deprived humans who may be endangering their lives by burning too much midnight oil? In Arianna Huffington’s new book, The Sleep Revolution, she discusses how she healed her poor sleep habits and changed her life. Sleep is a subject of deep concern for everyone. You absolutely need it, and most want it desperately. There’s so much to do in this busy, busy, busy life that the twenty-four hours which has been allotted to us each day just isn’t enough anymore. Arianna Huffington collapsed from exhaustion in 2007. In her latest book, she discusses the science behind the human need for rest. Sleep is essential for life As a coach and corporate trainer for almost 30 years, I have heard over and over the statement “I need to create more balance in my life!”  When I ask what that means, the number one answer is, “I just don’t get enough sleep.” Or, “I don’t sleep very well.”  Or, “I can’t seem to turn my brain off at night.”  Sleep is a vital component of good health and well being. I, too, have had my challenges with sleep, monkey brain and feeling exhausted after a restless night of sleep or not sleeping!  …