Tag Archives: Reflection

Listen to the Rhythms of January

Posted on by
Reply

Do you notice that January brings a desire to declutter, purge and re-organize your home, office and maybe even your car? If so, you’re not alone.

While the phrase “Spring Cleaning” is more popular than “January De-Cluttering,” this is a natural time for us to take stock and think about what we own, where we store it and whether it’s still relevant to our lives and our work.

If you’re feeling a desire to purge, declutter or re-organize, honor the feeling and do what you feel led to do. But don’t feel as though you have to do it all in one month. Listen to the natural rhythms that exist within your life and your climate. Maybe put an empty box by the back door and add to it when you find you can’t fit those coffee cups into the cabinet easily anymore. Or you discover some of the clothes you didn’t wear last year need to go to someone who will actually benefit from them this year.

December brings with it some gifts of food as well, making our bodies a bit overwhelmed. We often take stock of our eating and fitness habits during this time of year.

Winter is usually a time we draw inward and rest and reflect. So joining a gym and hitting it every day may be counterintuitive to your natural new year rhythms. Listen to what you feel like doing and think about when it may fit into your life. If you want to walk more, notice for a few days when you feel most like walking or moving your body a bit more. Track it for awhile and then see if that fits into your desired fitness schedule.

What would bring you comfort during this time of the year? Are you ready to create a sanctuary for the year ahead? A place that is visually stimulating and practical? Take one small step at a time and think first about which area of your life is pulling you with the strongest desire. Are you in need of warm baths with hot tea and a good book? Or do you feel like baking warm bread and sharing it with neighbors or friends.

What are you longing for?

Whatever is calling you, let it have a voice. When we connect with, listen to and honor our natural rhythms and desires, we are better for it.

 

Summer of Self Care – Day 17

Posted on by
Reply

Rhythm and Flow

What one thing can you do to create or get back into your natural rhythm or flow?

This is a self care question I ask a client when they are feeling overwhelmed.  The “What” they need to do is sometimes clear, but they are feeling like things are too out of control for them to be able to engage in normal or routine activities, leaving less time for self care. In other words, the “What” and “How” are interfering with the “Who.”

Overwhelm often happens when we are out of our normal rhythmic flow. This can happen when we have too much on our plate, when caregiving begins or ends, or when we get sick. So we find ourselves needing two extra days that we lost somehow and feel like all is falling apart.

Or maybe you’ve felt as though you haven’t had a flow and process for awhile now. New moms sometimes feel this way for 15 years. J

Self care often changes in the summer because days are longer or children are out of school. Work responsibilities may shift because colleagues are taking vacations or relocating.

The first thing to do is to take some time to think about what might be missing and what might fill that gap.

  • What are you longing for right now?
  • What do you know you need right now?
  • What can you live with and what can you live without?
  • What kind of flow or routine do you want to create?

Next, think about things you might have done in the past that made you feel grounded or centered. How did you recover from a setback or shift in routine before? Maybe routine is too strict for you, but a type of work or life flow might help you feel more like yourself.

A recent conversation with a client revealed that she knows instinctively that what she needs is to be creative. In the past, she would take time to paint or draw once a week, but she had stopped when she began taking care of her father. Another friend revealed that she missed her regular bike rides that ceased when she had an ankle injury.

My client may not be able to immediately start painting again, but with a few questions, she realized she may be able to watch painting videos on her tablet while caring for dad. Or she can buy an adult coloring book and start there while waiting for him to come out of the doctor’s office.

My friend may not be able to ride a bike for a bit longer, but she can possibly stretch or do short chair yoga routines to keep her endorphins flowing and stay more connected to a moderately active lifestyle.

Our personal rhythms and flow are often affected by a change in seasons as well. When summer comes, days are longer and we might feel like we get more done. In winter, we may sleep more and feel less productive in general. But the start of a season can often throw us off for a bit until we adjust.

Only you know your seasonal and daily rhythms.

  • Do you stay up late and sleep in? Or are you an early riser who tackles projects first thing?
  • What is your morning, after school, after work, or evening flow and how does it serve you?
  • Do you want to do something more? How could this fit into your rhythm or routine?
  • What do you need to stay calm and implement more self care when routine is disrupted?

I challenge you starting now to check in with yourself now and then to consider your natural rhythms and routines, especially thinking about what your self care needs are in the moment. These check-ins will help you create and continually modify your self care. And we’ll talk soon in another post about how to cope when challenges or crises come up and you need to shift your self care plan completely.

Knowing yourself – your “Who” and what works for you is critical in developing and maintaining strong self care habits. Being flexible when rhythms and routines change is paramount as well.

Find your true self in your rhythm and flow.

 

From Overwhelmed to Intentional

Posted on by
Reply

 

Happy New Year!! 

It’s been awhile since my last blog post, hasn’t it? Where have I been? I did not shut down my business or stop coaching. I did embark on a few years of intensive caregiving and advocating for my mother, who had Alzheimer’s Disease. We lost her on December 5th of 2013 and I began a new part-time position with AARP Mississippi just five days later! I knew this new job would give me more time to coach and work in my business. And it did. However, the challenge of learning new systems, technologies and training platforms meant I had to prioritize. So taking good care of my existing clients and helping new ones was THE most important thing I needed and wanted to do. Newsletters and blog posts could wait.

Rewinding, Reflection and Renewal

So one year later, 2015 has begun and I am reflecting on what I learned over the past two years. 2013 was filled with scheduling: work events, doctor’s appointments, care team meetings, applications and follow up. 2014 felt like it passed by in the blink of an eye, partly because I felt like I was always reacting, rather than responding. Do you ever feel that way too? I felt largely unprepared, like I wasn’t thinking ahead or planning anything at all. And in many cases, I wasn’t because so much of what I was experiencing in my new position was new and untested. But my business systems and personal stuff was fairly routine! I COULD plan and organize those things more efficiently. Why wasn’t I doing that? Upon reflection, I can say this: I did a LOT of things I had longed to do and couldn’t when I was caregiving for my mom and working myself to death. I spent a lot of time in 2014 doing what I love: scrapbooking, playing with my granddaughter, reading and relaxing. It took me awhile to realize that what I wasn’t getting done made space for me to be in renewal. To heal and rest.

New Year’s Resolutions don’t work for me. 

I read the other day that planning and organization are one of the top resolutions people make in the near year. Planning and organizing are certainly high on my list for 2015 too. But I don’t like the word “resolution” at all. The root word, resolute, is typically defined as ‘unwavering.’ My life wavers. People get sick, die, change jobs and move. And if I am unwavering, I am not flexible. Rather, I make ‘Intentions’ for the new year – things I intend to do, if everything lines up and stays favorable. If it doesn’t, then I can reflect and figure out how to stay generally focused. I reflect on the past year most years and this past few weeks, I have taken a lot of time to discover why I felt so overwhelmed.

I’d like to go through this with you too. 

I really want to share what I’ve learned and the process I go through with anyone who needs it. No kidding – I want everyone to stop feeling overwhelmed and to feel more prepared and responsive. But, there’s a lot – WAY too much to include in a newsletter or blog post.

That’s why I’m offering a free training call – Make It Meaningful: A Guide to Intentional Living and Working. I’ll spend about an hour telling you about where I was and where I am now, what helped and what didn’t, and how you can get closer to a more meaningful and intentional life and work environment. During the call we will:
1) Explore what you most want to do and how to stay out of rabbit holes;
2) Prioritize and then plan and organize those priorities;
3) Create a process for staying on track.

This call is absolutely free and happens on Monday, January 19th at 7:00 pm Eastern/6:00 pm Central time. That should give you some time to grab a little something to eat, find a note pad and a pen that writes and settle in your favorite quiet spot.

All you have to do to sign up is to email me at LaurieJohnson@4elementscoaching.com. Or you can go to my website at www.4elementscoaching.com and click on the Contact Us page, putting Make It Meaningful in the subject line. Then just write “Sign Me Up.”

The call will be recorded, but if you dial in live, you’ll have an opportunity to receive a free gift AND to participate in some other opportunities that will be offered in the next few months.

Start Right Now! 

If you want to make planning and responding a priority, start now by making this call a priority. Add it to your Outlook calendar or set an appointment and reminder on your smart phone. And be sure to invite your friends too – we all know someone who could use a little help, don’t we?

I can’t say for sure if I will be sending out regular newsletters or blogging weekly in 2015. It’s my intention to add these things back into my work and I have set these tactics as priorities in my schedule. But, as one of my colleagues often tells me, “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.” I know this: 2015 will be a meaningful year for me, just as 2014 was after a little learning and growing. My intentions are clear and I know what matters most in my life. I hope you have a beautiful new year, sprinkled with happiness and joy. If I can help you make that happen, my life will be more meaningful too!