Cigarette break=self-care?
This is a quick one - just to stimulate your thoughts about self care. This has been a hot topic with clients lately. The bottom line is that there are no well-being freebies. I know, I know...we all wish we could do nothing positive to maintain/or improve our health and still feel refreshed mentally and physically.
As far as I know and have experienced, you have got to actively take care of yourself if you want to maintain good mental/physical health or improve your mental/physical health.
Do you count a cigarette break as self-care? What if the cigarette is smoked outside?
How about:
- a coffee break
- surfing the web
- taking care of your personal finances at work
- facebook time
- eating lunch at your desk
- scrolling through your emails on your hand-held device
- spacing out at meeting
- chatting with colleagues in the lunch line
- your nap on the plane for duty travel
Well...what are you going to do now? Life in the international workspace can feel pretty compressed. That is not a new thought and also not going to allow much change in behavior. You are not unique - everyone in this space feels that way - there is never enough time and there is zero time for yourself. The international workers that know and feel this reality and don't collapse under this pressure have something special going on. You have got to carve in time for yourself and be totally possessive about it like a selfish child under six years old.
The new thought could be - actively taking care of my mind and my body has crucial enabling value.
Self care is an daily activity with the intention of restoring or improving health.
Self-care looks different for everyone and some general ways that people practice self-care:
- exercise
- diet
- spirituality
- personal development
- sleep
Inquiry:
What would be possible if you actually took care of your body and mind?
If you feel like I wrote this article specifically for you, write to us here