I have been teetering on the idea that I may be entering into what entrepreneurs might call “Start-up Burn Out” again. I’ve been there quite a few times before and can spot the signs miles away by now.
One sign (for me) is that I realized that I haven’t been baking for fun lately. Something that I’ve always done to relax. “My Human Design” recently reassured me that the kitchen was in fact “my happy place.” Not that I was wondering or anything like that but it’s nice to have some reassurance come from somewhere, right? (Yes, I’m laughing.) And, we can leave the idea of whether or not there is an algorithm in place behind My Human Design that briefly searches the internet and puts my most socially posted topic as “my happy place” can be left for another story…
But the more I thought about it, it dawned on me that I’m truly having so much fun in the professional area of my life right now and that it’s actually the other areas that I feel burned out in.
It doesn’t matter if you are a “Mompreneur” like me, we all get to this point at some point and for lots of different reasons. It’s completely normal in fact. Everyone’s life moves with an ebb and flow, in and out of balance, all the time. I suppose the trick is to keep yourself tuned in enough into yourself to be able to try to keep yourself in the right amount of balance….especially while the world works itself out again.
So, as “Working Moms” how do we implement new tools and ideas to “Create a Balance?”
We get so caught up in the responsibilities of our lives, the needs of our children, and the needs of everyone else around us, that we often forget to ask ourselves “What do I need?” and it’s usually too late to try to mitigate any issues before it happens. Also notable is the fact that if you as the mother are questioning this, chances are your family could really use the adjustment too.
The old Emily would have plowed through and found herself knee-deep in “Start-up Burn Out” but the new Emily is actively attempting to make some adjustments for a better life in the future. (Yes, I am talking about myself in the third person, sometimes it makes sense!)
Friday evenings are usually reserved for a small group of friends where we all contribute something to our dinner, together. I usually bring dessert.
Due to everyone’s travel schedules, we hadn’t been able to all be together for most of the summer. And this past Friday, we made it happen albeit missing one. It was everything to just be there with them leisurely talking and eating about absolutely nothing but also everything and so much more! After I left last week’s get-together, I said to myself, “Wow, I hadn’t realized how much I really needed that!”
On Saturday morning after sleeping in, I found myself in one of those moments asking myself “Okay, last night was a good start to some intentional grounding but what else do I need?”
An hour later, I found myself in a meditation class. After, I went for a leisurely 4-mile run/walk around Audubon Park. And followed that with a few hours of reading in the pool, which inevitably turned into a nap, in the sun, on a pool chair.
When I woke up, I took a long hot bath, curled my hair, put on a dress and a pair of Converse sneakers, and headed to Tipitina’s. Sometimes, you just need to dance and feel it all out you know?
After sleeping in on Sunday, I made a call and reserved a session for both an infrared sauna and the cold plunge tub. The correct order of treatment for this type of “Mindbody” therapy is to sit in the infrared sauna first (45-minutes), then do the cold plunge for as long as you can take it. I lasted 10 minutes in the cold plunge which was a new record. Your body will do so much healing while warming back up to temperature on its own, that is why you do the sauna first.
Why do it at all you ask?
Once your body recovers from the initial shock of the temperature difference within the first 90-seconds, which you regulate the shock by breathing in and out slowly to regulate your heart rate, the cold plunge creates a Mindbody reset like nothing else out there. Athletes have been using this type of Mindbody therapy for decades to heal their bodies before and after training and games.
Later that day I found myself channeling Fall by cooking up some soup. Even if it’s still 90 degrees here in New Orleans, I know it’s out there somewhere and at least I can get myself in the right mindset for the coming change of season. While I was cooking, a friend from the West Coast texted me and asked me if I wanted to do an Autumn Reset with her for the next 21-days.
The universe was clearly speaking to me very clearly now. I am paying attention, and I am open and willing to receive what it is giving me. I sign up immediately.
With the equinox coming, and after spending the weekend healing through different Mindbody treatments, I am at the perfect moment to start an intentional reset. It is in fact, exactly what I need right now.
I’ve never done one but have heard many great things about it from like-minded individuals. I thought that it might be fun to check back in with you at the end of the 21-days for a recap, so you’ll be hearing from me a little more on this in the future!
So far, I’m on day 2, and after reading the “Thrival” (The bible to thriving) guide, I have gone to bed earlier, and enjoyed the warmth of 3 cups of hot tea. Two during the day and one before bed last night. I’ve thought about my diet, what I usually have for breakfast and how what we eat is the fuel our bodies need to live.
Some questions that I am hoping to answer by the end of this are:
- What am I eating?
- Is what I’m eating considered healthy?
- How does it make me feel?
- How am I treating myself?
- How are other parents teaching their kiddos these things?
- Are my routines too complicated?
- How is my gut health really going these days?
- What are some ways that I can create more balance in everyday life?
- What are the things that derail me from being my most present?
I’m giving myself a really bright green light for an abundance of growth for this one. Wish me luck. “Self Care”
here I come!
