What Are You Grateful For?

“It’s up to you today to start making healthy choices. Not choices that are just healthy for your body, but healthy for your mind.” – Steve Maraboli

Did you know that you can change your wellbeing by changing your behaviors? While a variety of factors contribute to your wellbeing, the foundation is unequivocally built on diet, exercise, and rest.

At Fitlife, we often emphasize diet and exercise, but do we give enough attention to rest? Especially now because hurricane fatigue is real. The most important thing you can do for yourself is learn to rest when your body (and mind) needs it.

The reality is when your mind needs to rest, it can trigger aches and pains in your body. The only way to reset this phenomenon is through self care and tuning into what is causing the issue. It can be more psychological than physical. So where do you want to begin?

Allow yourself time to fill your bucket by prioritizing rest. You might be thinking, “I don’t have time to rest.” One of my favorite songs says:

“Ain’t no rest for the wicked. Money don’t grow on trees. I got bills to pay. I got mouths to feed, there ain’t nothing in this world for free.”

I get it. We are all hustling to get where we want to go. But if you want to truly live the life you desire, link your values to the foundation of diet, exercise, and rest—our three pillars of health. When you tie your values to these pillars, they begin to serve double duty. Not only are you building a solid foundation, but you are also cultivating positive emotions, healthy relationships, and a sense of meaning and accomplishment.

That, my friends, is how we change our behaviors to prioritize our most important asset: ourselves!

You might be saying, “I’m doing fine as I am.” But is that truly your reality, or is it what you want to believe to avoid addressing repressed feelings and the reality that something must give?

I recently received an email from Positivepsychology.com that got me thinking about this topic. For those of us in Tampa, the timing was perfect as we are still reeling from the impact of Hurricane Milton and as I mentioned earlier, hurricane fatigue is real.

Lucy from Positive Psychology shares an activity called “Building the Habit of Good Enough.” It is a 10-minute exercise focusing on mindset. While designed for coaches to use with clients, it is a wonderful way to kickstart your behavior change. The tool helps us identify how to change our mindset to improve wellbeing by simplifying the decisions and actions we take in our lives.

I love how she highlights that the cumulative effect of being bombarded with an overwhelming number of choices causes societal distress. Schwartz says:

“Unfortunately, the proliferation of choice in our lives robs us of the opportunity to decide for ourselves just how important any given decision is.”

It is easy to feel overwhelmed by too many choices and too little time to do what is important, especially when compounded by the pressures caused by Hurricane Milton.

To experience a deep, lasting sense of wellbeing, we must first accept ourselves for who we truly are. No more worrying about what everyone else thinks. What matters is our internal dialogue and the actions we take because of it.        

Brene Brown addresses this topic in her book, The Gifts of Imperfection. I first ran across the book by accident on a cruise ship. When I entered the library looking for something to read on the pool deck, there had to have been 10 copies of this book on the shelves. So I grabbed one.

Up until that point, I thought I was authentic. Turns out, I was pretending to be someone I could never become. It was not until recently that I wanted to get to know myself. It was then, I realized I was not trying to be a perfectionist for my own reasons but to ignore the shame I felt about things in my life.

By embracing my messy, chaotic life, I have found joy and grace beyond imagination. I just had to stop trying to be someone I could never truly become.         

Brene Brown provides a tool on her website to help us get a baseline reading of where we are at any given point in time. Here is the Wholehearted Inventory from her website. While she recommends you take the assessment before you start reading the book, I took it after and still found much benefit from the output. Here are my results:

Anyone who knows me will tell you that the trait most often associated with me is laughter ??. I knew I would rock Guidepost 10. Anyone who knows me will also tell you I do not have a clue about how to be still… it is going to take me a while to master Guidepost 8.

For more details about these guideposts, refer to?The Gifts of Imperfection.

At the end of the day, I am focusing on building a community that can let go of societal expectations and embrace their natural, raw talents that have been suppressed for a long time. If you have tips on cultivating self-compassion, please share. If you want help practicing courage and letting go of fear and scarcity, I can lend a hand.

It takes a village to raise a child, so it makes sense that I need a village to help me heal my inner child.        

Authenticity is a choice that requires courage, compassion, and connection. It is a behavioral habit that must be exercised to improve results. Acting like failure is no big deal will not make the pain of failure easier. Being honest about your hopes makes it possible for you to find support!

Do you agree? Share your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for being a part of my village.

“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day.” – Brené Brown

Welcome to a space where creativity meets strategy, and ideas transform into actionable objectives. As a facilitator of subtle conversations, I guide thoughts from the unconscious mind to the rational, fostering an environment where purposeful play thrives. My holistic, proactive, and consultative approach is designed to enhance employee value both individually and collectively.

With expertise in employment law, risk management, HR systems, total rewards, talent development, HR strategy, and performance optimization, I build tools and programs that align with business goals and boost employee engagement. I am dedicated to maintaining strong culture and values that reflect our brand from the inside out. Join me on this journey to empower individuals to reach their personal and professional potential.

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