The Importance of Self-Care

Hello readers,

It has been a while! This year has been wild from weening a baby to finding a new job to buying our first home, you tend to forget about yourself and get wrapped around in the chaos going on around you. The past two days I was attending some work training: the first day being stuff that can be applied to our job about newcomers, differences between case management and information and orientation; the second day being about self care and healthy well being. I feel inspired and want to share some of the information that was shared with us yesterday. One of the main reasons I am writing this is because writing is one of my outlets when I want to vent or am feeling a little bit overwhelmed. I am going to make it a goal of mine to get back into the habit of blogging so that it can be my outlet.

The first part is about "7 Humour Habits of the Workplace" this guest speaker was hilarious and amazing. Laughing really is the best medicine plus it helps the body function better and leads to a better overall well being. The speaker's name was Paul Huschilt, he is an award winning speaker with a background in career counseling, adult education, and human resources plus he is an actor and a singer! You can only imagine the amazing performance that he put on with such a remarkable background!

1. Take time to relax
2. Simplify your Life (learn to say no, How good is your "yes" if your "no" is no good)
3. Smile and Laugh more (Children laugh around 400x a day while adults laugh only about 14x !!!!!!)
4. Galileo principle (don't make yourself the centre of the world)
5. Give and help others
6. Reward yourself
7. DARE TO BE YOU! 

Another thing we learned from another guest speaker by the name of Tracey Stub of the YMCA of Ontario is to look at the different aspects in your life and really analyze your life as of this moment. There are many different categories to look at which include the following:

Rate yourself from 1-10 in the following categories with 10 being satisfied.

• Physical: are you taking care of your body? Do you eat healthy? Do you see a family doctor? etc.

 Some ways you can improve physical health is to eat healthy, take up a new exercise routine like yoga or kick boxing, get a good nights sleep, etc.

• Mental: How mentally and intellectually stimulated are you? Are you still learning? Have you read any good books lately?

 To become mentally stimulated you need to look at being committed, control, and then change. It is easy to say "yeah I do not do anything stimulating" and then sit back down and continue to do nothing. Change comes from within and you need to really want it to be able to achieve it.

• Spiritual: Are you at peace? Do you contribute to causes you believe in? Do you take time to be mindful of what you are doing?

 Spiritual can mean different things to different people it can mean if you are a religious or non-religious person, do you have balance in your life? What are your values and beliefs and how do you show them? This calls for some time to yourself to really think about where you stand in your life.

• Career: How would you rate yourself in your career? Do you enjoy your work? Are you satisfied with your achievements? 

 It really comes down to are you truly happy doing what you are doing now? Do you need something to get back the passion in your work? It could mean making a career change or challenging yourself. Take on a new project or see a way where you can do something new like an event or fundraiser as an organization. Never settle because you will regret it later!

• Family/Social: How would you rate your family relationships and social time? How did you celebrate recent birthdays, holidays, etc?

 When it comes to your social well being do not let work consume your life. Work on leaving work at work and coming home to a fresh page. Although it can be hard try and find something that works for you. Re-connect with old friends and try to make the time and effort to go out every once in a while!

• Emotional: Are you truly happy? Do you have troubles getting up and facing the day? Are you easily brought to tears? etc.

Some tips for emotional well being can be focusing on things you can control and not things that are out of your control. Strive for goodness and not perfection! Look for the humour in things. Develop mindfulness, compassion, and connect.

I really hope that this post touches at least one person and they really able to evaluate this moment in their life. With that said I challenge you to look at the good things today, count your blessings instead of being held on the things that didn't quite go your way.

And remember:
"Take care of yourself first or you will have nothing left to give others"