Campaign 4 Personal Power
Week 4 – Giving Up
My brain is a funny, busy place. Constantly on the go, life in the last week has been particularly hectic, even by my standards. Understanding the need to create a sense of balance, I have made note of certain metrics that alert me to my state of stress. A gifted sleeper, restless sleep is rarely a first line indication that things are getting out of control. That would be just too normal. Nope, for me, the first sign is that my mind is racing and my adrenals are working overtime is that the Super Mario Brother’s theme song starts to play in my head… on warped speed. It has been a recurrent theme since I have been six years old and it has never failed to remind that I need to take a few deep breaths.
The very fact that I am writing this post on Wednesday versus Sunday night is a tribute to my dedication to this week’s challenge, giving up! Giving up you say? No, I am not ending the #c4pp prematurely. Instead, this week I am making difficult decisions, getting focused, re-prioritizing and letting go of those things that are making noise (bad Nintendo music) in my life. Family priorities, career demands and an unexpected trip to the hospital (she is fine), has reminded me of the need to eliminate those things in my life that are taking more from my limited pool than they are providing in return. In this sense, in the spirit of re-prioritization, I am giving up. The things I am letting go of are not small. They are contributions that have fueled the core of who I am, my ego, and my passions. However, in the grand scheme of things, they are also taking away the most precious commodity I possess, time.
We have all seen variations on this exercise before and it is somthing I encourage my patients to complete when they want to get focused. Try it, it is simple, enlightening and it cuts to the point.
With the limited time you have in the day, list the 4 most important priorities in your life.
1. Family
2. Career (Naturopathic practice & Bright Almond, curious?)
3. Health (exercise and sleep)
4. Relationships
With the limited time you have in the day, list those things that are taking the greatest amount of time.
1. Family
2. Career
3. Volunteer board work
4. Health (Distant 4th)
It was tough, but I made the decision to cut something deeply important. Despite the deep level of satisfaction I derived from being involved, my volunteer work was noisily preventing me from focusing on my current list of priorities. It has been a week now and what started as an overwhelming feeling of sadness has morphed into a state of relief, release and peace. It was the right decision. How do I know? Because I haven’t heard from Super Mario Brothers since.
Let’s see how far we have come, shall we.
1. Breakfast shakes with protein, green leafy items such as kale and now, our daily multi-vitamin.
2. Daily exercise. For me, right now, this includes Joga and walking. I am hoping to start running again in September.
3. Two lunch options, Lemon Lunch Chick Pea Salad and Kale Tahini salad
4. A regular regime of basic supplements.
5. 2L of water per day
6. A re-prioritization of time and energy for those things that really matter.
My Goals for the week of July 29th
Food & Nutrients
Boom! 2L of water, that was easy. I feel amazing with that simple little change. This week I am going to try to replace salty snacks wit vegetables. Bye bye organic corn chips, hello cucumbers and hummus.
Exercise
Joga x 3
Paddle boarding x 2
Body Composition
Weight: down a total of 5lbs (I think the extra water made a big difference last week)
Motivation
Make your list! Where are you spending your time? How does this align with your priorities?
Share your new lists in the comment section below, on twitter or Facebook. Be sure to share your goals and recipes using the hashtag #c4pp
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Best of luck this week and I look forward to seeing you online.
