Self-Care

Extreme self-care is not just basic self-care. Most of us do basic self-care, like going to the dentist, getting a vision exam, or visiting our primary care doctor for a yearly check-up.
Additionally, you might take a Yoga class, treat yourself to a monthly massage, or exercise daily. But there is much more to extreme self-care than these basic practices. It involves a wholistic mindset and advanced practices that nurture your overall well-being so that you can live the life you love now, and throughout the new year to come.

You may think that extreme self-care, especially during the busy holidays, sounds selfish and self-absorbed. You may say, “Why should I put myself at the top of my list, or focus on what I want when others’ needs come first?”

Well, during the past 15 years, I’ve coached hundreds of clients who have wanted to significantly change their lives. Many of them have been able to overcome obstacles and make dramatic changes in their lives.

From this experience, I have identified six of the most common obstacles that consistently prevent people from really enjoying excellent self-care so they can live the life they love.

 Here are these six obstacles:

1. Your schedule does not reflect your priorities. You find yourself exhausted at the end of the day with very little time to do the things that are important to you.
2.  You feel drained by certain people, negative environments, and the management of things. You have a long list of things to do, which seemingly is never completed. Certain types of places and people drain your energy, including family members and some friends who call you to complain.
3. You have a job or career that may still support you financially, but no longer supports you spiritually. You don’t know how to make the change you need, so you continue working the same job year after year.
4. You have no plan or vision for your life. You are living day by day and making no changes in your health, relationships or career. Your life is becoming dull and boring.
5. You are missing a supportive community in your life. You feel isolated and disconnected from others who are like-minded, and who could be of great value to you.
6. Your spiritual well-being gets lost in your busy life. You would like to spend more time in meditation, prayer, and/or yoga but your busy life keeps getting in your way.

Creating the fulfilling life you want takes courage and vision, and your commitment to your own extreme self-care.

I know this to be true, because I spent much of my mid-life living in New York City, working a full-time nursing job in the evening while developing a fashion and event business during the day. I frequently went to bed at 1 a.m. and got up at 7:00 a.m. I was exhausted most of the time, but I just kept going.

It took me years to slow down and learn to say “no” to overworking and attending events that weren’t important to me.

It has only been during the past eight years that I started to seriously integrate extreme self-care in my life and make myself my priority. That is why I am very passionate about this subject!

Hay House author and life coach Cheryl Richardson wrote a wonderful book, “The Art of Extreme Self-Care: Transform Your Life One Month at a Time.”

Cheryl says, “Enjoying a life of extreme self-care means living and working in a soul-nurturing environment, developing a greater appreciation for and connection with nature, doing work that provides an opportunity to express your greatest gifts and talents, and caring for your emotional, physical, and spiritual health in a way that’s aligned with who you are and what you most need.”

This is a challenging concept for most people!

Here are ways you can turn your life around one change at a time.

1. Ask yourself, “what is showing up in my life, what is working and what needs to change? What is creating stress and unhappiness in my life?”
2. Get clear on what you really want for your life. Get your priorities straight. Set new priorities that align with what is really important to you.
3. Identify the old beliefs and patterns that are holding you back from living an empowered, healthy, and spiritual lifestyle.
4. Hire a coach to help you be accountable for making change, and start your New Year by joining my 4-hour “Get Going – Jump Into 2018” workshop.
5. Create a plan that will help you improve your health, nutrition, and well-being. If you have health issues, your health care must be one of your main priorities. Tell yourself the truth about the types of foods you are putting into your body, and how you are really treating your body, while expecting it to fuel and support you all day.
6. Find a community of like-minded people to support, challenge and encourage you to be your best self. This is one of the most important things you can do to create and sustain your well-being.
7. Increase your spiritual practice with meditation, prayer, and engaging in religious/spiritual community. Online courses offered by The Shift Network, Sounds True, Wisdom University, and many others are available to support you.

Making a decision to change your life begins by becoming aware that you deserve to live a better life, a healthier life, a more abundant life. You then can make a choice to live a life of extreme, fulfilling self-care!

Let go of the past. In 2018, do something different that moves your life forward this year. Let yourself dream, create a vision, make a plan and most importantly, take action!