Our daily habits and practices are crucial when it comes to supporting our success in life. The ways in which we support ourselves to live and work with greater freedom, wellbeing and to create the life we want for ourselves are massively determined by the practices we incorporate into our lives on a day to day basis.
And what this comes down to is how we prioritise looking after ourselves, our needs, our physical and mental health.
It’s something that used to be overlooked or underestimated when looking at success. And it’s often still pushed to the back burner, as something that’s a nice to have, not a priority. But when I’m coaching clients, whether for life/career/leadership coaching, this comes up every time. And in most sessions, we revisit the ways in which the client has tended to their wellbeing in the time since we last met, and look at ways to support them to prioritise this going forward. All my clients have found new ways in which they can bolster themselves and reap the rewards from it.
Some times they will dismiss the need to do more, or feel they are already doing enough. But when we dig into it, it opens up a whole new way of being, for their lives right now, and to set them up for a healthy life in the next 10-20 years. It takes small, consistent steps and support to bring in the changes.
So what can we do on our own journeys? Most of my clients are in their 30s and 40s.
If you’re in your 30s and pushing ahead on your career – the thing often at the forefront of your mind is how do you get to where you want to be while also building up your social life, your relationships.
Or maybe you’re at that crossroads of wanting to have a family, wanting to spend more time within your relationship but wondering how to also live with purpose in your working life and advance your career.
As we get older, the priorities shift about a bit – in our early 40s we start to look at the life we’ve created and wonder what else there is, feeling this sense of wanting to thrive but somehow not getting there. What parts of ourselves have not had the chance to flourish?
For women – many of our generation are going through the menopause while raising teens, juggling demanding full time jobs and caring for elderly parents. This is something previous generations would not have had to do. If we don’t start prioritising our health, we are on course for disaster – we, our children, our grandchildren and society at large are going to be paying for this neglect in years to come.
And men are suffering in much the same way – being pushed from pillar to post, trying to carve their path ahead, coming to terms with ageing while also meeting the needs and demands of family, work and wider social commitments.
So where do we begin?
Start off by asking yourself, how do you want to feel?
How often do you put things off, procrastinate or focus on the things that aren’t going to move you forward?
We put things off because we’re afraid we might not achieve them, our energy levels don’t match the task in hand.
All of this can be supported through the ways we take care of ourselves.
Firstly, take note of any of the daily habits you have in your life that support you to feel more focused, more attuned to the life you’re creating. Anything that gives you time out, some time for yourself to recuperate.
Then write a list of these five areas of life – doing this can be really helpful because it can be difficult to decipher exactly how we’re meant to be supporting ourselves. We know we should be, but why don’t we feel any better when we do? Or we are just missing some pieces of the puzzle.
Personal
- Your Health & Lifestyle
- Your Mindset
- Your Creativity & Learning
- How you create Connection & build a sense of Community
- Your inner self, your inner peace
Depending on where your energy levels are right now, will depend on how much you can do. But these 5 areas, give you a structure to work around – something to consider when you’re looking at your areas of wellbeing and how well your habits support you on your journey.
Ask yourself what you want to feel? What makes you feel good? What drains your energy? And how can you build small purposeful habits into your daily life to feed each of these 5 areas. When I work with clients, often the first category, health and lifestyle, has lots of positives in it and the other areas not so much.
But by breaking it down in this way, it supports you to see how you can feed all parts of your personal life, to move you to a place of thriving.
I’ve talked about journaling before, and it’s a good way to keep tabs on how you’re supporting your wellbeing and growth.
Write a list under each of these 5 headings. And then look at what time you can give to each one.
At the end of every day, take 5-10 minutes to reflect on how your day was, what you did for yourself. And write a note of these things in your journal:
1 thing you’re really proud of doing today
1 thing that made you feel happy
3 things you feel grateful for
Write about Today I am feeling ….
Reflect on anything that got in your way of achieving what you wanted to do – what might have caused it? How could you tackle it differently tomorrow?
My goal for tomorrow is …
Small, consistent steps that build your energy.
Any questions, message me here.