Success includes SELF CARE....

Its 2024, and we made it here. Yesssssssss, even in the busy, sometimes?chaotic, legal world that?we may otherwise thrive in, a SELF CARE routine needs to be a top?priority for our mental health, our productivity, our longevity and our overall well-being.??First, ask yourself, do I even have a SELF CARE routine, or option?? Is this important to me, or for me??Another article on SELF CARE huh, yeppppppppp, cause to truly be successful, you must learn to manage your SELF?CARE with intention.? ?

"SELF CARE is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation"......? ?

To make it plain, SELF CARE is the way we pay attention to, and respond to, the warning signs that creep up.? Let me say, if these warning signs are ignored can affect our physical, emotional, social and mental health.? If we are honest, we often find ourselves moving at the pace of our active case calendars, discovery deadlines to meet, mediation or trial binders that need to be prepared, clients, witnesses or experts to interview, or?attorneys with a last minute court filing (given to you at 4 pm on a Friday afternoon), that must be done before you leave the office for the weekend (pause - reflect - breathe).?

"SELF CARE is?doing the things that make you feel more like yourself??"......?

Honest moment here - on my own journey to manage SELF CARE with intention, I have realized the many?times that I have failed myself.? This happens every time I allow the warning signs to go unnoticed.? For example, I have found myself stretching the boundaries I set, andddddddddd pushing past or ignoring the warning signs that pop up to remind me to - slow it down, say No to that next invite (not because it is not important, but because my week is already packed), or request an extension for a upcoming project deadline (not because I have not been working on it, but because it is not close to the finish line).? I have personally learned that SELF CARE is a?must.???To ignore my SELF CARE, I am destined to crash and burn (literally).? ?In the midst of alllll that, I find myself dealing with feelings of disappointment, because I know WHAT happened, and WHY I failed.? I have no one to blame, I?did it to myself because I skipped the SELF CARE time.? When you know yourself, you know when you are operating on fumes, instead of from a well rested energized place.??

I believe managing SELF CARE with intention begins with your way of thinking about it, and acknowledging its?significance.? But make?no mistake about it, SELF CARE is not just an outward?action, or even something you have to?add to the budget.? While I too love spa massages, warm bubble baths, scented candles, and most anything chocolate, they are not my only SELF CARE practices.??

It is simply taking a mental break from the?hustle and bustle of day-to-day life.? I ask you (and please be honest) -? how often do you really think about SELF CARE; what ways do you practice SELF?CARE; and when is SELF CARE a priority for you?? If you?are like most ambitious, over-achieving, hard working, experienced paralegals that I know, it aint?always at the top of the to-do-list.? But often SELF CARE is only implemented after you are forced to take multiple sick days off from work, or stuck in bed because your body just?quit on you, when in reality it simply needed some rest and rejuvenation.??

Nowwww can you see why it is important for you to manage your SELF CARE with intention.? I encourage you to make SELF CARE a priority, and seek ways to develop coping skills to manage your SELF CARE with intention. Do you realize you owe it to yourself to make SELF CARE just as important as anything else you put on your schedule (maybe not as often as a spa day), but it too must be something you consistently do (to stay in balance).??

But I wont leave you hanging, this article is to help you make that 'Michael?Jackson kinda change', and here is how......true SELF CARE is, "making the choice to build a life that you don't need to escape from".? To help you begin or maintain your SELF CARE practice, here are?some suggestions to put in your SELF CARE tool kit - take a walk, cook a good dinner, read a book, journal your thoughts (or whatever helps you slow down and breathe).? I challenge you to implement some simple SELF CARE tips that you can easily adopt and add to your day, evening, and lifestyle. I promise you, you wont be, or stay successful without SELF CARE (look at it like gasoline, a vehicle wont work without it)....