Now that I?m an adult, I have an equally chaotic life. And more often than not, I find that my own needs get lost in the shuffle. I?ll eat later, after that conference call. I?m feeling under the weather, but I have a social engagement. My body is telling me to slow down, but I insist on picking up a heavier weight. The results are oh, so predictable. Depleted, resentful and unhealthy, it?s harder to really care for myself. So I sit back awaiting the rescue that (surprise!) never comes.
Recently, this issue has come to my attention around work. I?m a busy business owner with a full, exciting career that centers around my desk and an always-on, always-inundated computer. I used to roll out of bed, walk into the computer room, and immediately power on and plunge into work. Hours later, I?d wonder why I felt stressed and exhausted. Again, my inability to listen to my own needs was affecting my mental and physical health.
These days, I?m trying a different approach. When I wake up, I move to a transitional area (i.e. not my siren-song bed) and take a few moments to just hang out with myself. I listen. How am I feeling? What do I hope to get out of the day? What do I want?
Sometimes the answer is mundane: I want breakfast! Other days, it?s profound?I acknowledge a fear or a life goal. And every time I practice listening, I behave in other healthier ways throughout the day. It?s a small victory, but it?s a real start.
How about you? Do you take time to really listen to yourself?
Pin ItAbout Erin Blakemore, Best Life Community Director and Contributor
A California ex-pat with a bookish streak, Erin is a writer, editor, social media strategist, and co-owner of VOCO Creative. After retiring from the Denver Roller Dolls, she traded her skates for hiking boots in her adopted hometown of Boulder, Colorado. Erin?s debut book, The Heroine?s Bookshelf, was published by Harper in 2010, winning the Colorado Book Award for General Nonfiction and garnering coverage in The New York Times, Glamour magazine, Ms. Magazine and more. Erin?s writing has been featured on NPR and in magazines like Bitch, Blackbook, and The Onion A.V. Club. Don?t worry?she won?t bust out the fluent German unless you go first.
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