The holiday period gives us time and space to become renewed, revitalised and relaxed… and when we come back, we are invited to maintain or return to this feeling all year long. And that starts with having a healthy balance. A balance between work, life, family, friends, responsibilities, joys, self care and relaxation. Decide how you can find a healthier balance by increasing your nourishing activities, and/or considering what depleting activities you can change.
Take this slowed-down time to reflect on your balance last year, and how you can create a better balance going forward:
- What will you do differently?
- When will you do it differently?
- How will you do it differently?
- Who will you do it differently with?
When we have a range of healthy and nourishing daily activities, it rewards us with good energy levels.
When we don’t nourish ourselves we have reduced energy, which results in reduced activities which then leads to lower moods feeling stressed, depressed and exhausted.
Nourishing activities are intended to nourish your life, and they do this by nourishing the body and the mind alike.
Activities that nourish your body and mind will deliver what you need to function more effectively.
Nourishing activities are the ones that…
- Lift your mood
- Increase energy
- Help you feel calm and centred
And depleting activities…
- Lower mood
- Drain energy
- Increase stress and tension
You might find that some activities are not so clearly ‘either-or’, but sometimes nourishing and sometimes depleting – depending on the meaning that we give them at that time.
I invite you to start by writing down two lists of your normal daily activities:
1. A typical work / week day
2. A typical day off / weekend day
I would like you to write down everything you can think of, including getting up, getting dressed, showering, eating breakfast etc.
Then look back at your list, and decide which activities nourish you, and which deplete you.
Then indicate with an N or D next to each item on your list.
Now reflect:
- Can you add more nourishing activities?
- Can you reduce your depleting activities?
- Can you reframe or adjust the depleting activities to nourish you at the same time?
Maybe your New Year’s resolution will be to add one more nourishing activity each day.
It doesn’t have to take much time, and it doesn’t have to be hard to implement.
It could be a cup of tea at bedtime. A ten minute walk after lunch. A daily affirmation in the mirror.
Start simple and quick, and turn your nourishing activities into routines.
Not all activities nourish us.
Oftentimes, we have to take part in activities that deplete us. But you can still rewire the way you view them.
Choose to change the meaning you give those depleting activities that you can’t avoid doing:
Perhaps there’s another way of looking at this?
Is that fact or opinion?
Perhaps that’s the voice of a different inner feeling, like depression or anxiety, speaking?
When we start to feel depressed or stressed and overwhelmed, we tend to neglect our self and we stop doing the nourishing activities that our mind, body and soul need.
When we nourish ourselves, this usually helps us feel better and keeps us doing those things that bring us joy and motivation.
If we choose to surrender to the stress and the state of overwhelm this depletes and exhausts us. We then feel even worse and do even less.
Even if we can’t reduce the depleting activities in our lives – the things we can’t avoid, that exhaust us rather than fulfilling us – we can aim to find a healthier balance.
Do this by increasing the amount of nourishing activities you take part in, and learn to see your depleting activities in a new way.
Self-care is the practise of taking an active role in protecting one’s own wellbeing and happiness, especially during times of stress.
Self-care is never selfish – instead, it’s essential to staying fulfilled and nourished, rather than exhausted and depleted.
Filling your self-care cup is the best way to be energised enough to serve others.
For me, nature is full of nourishing activities.
Each day, I nourish myself by stepping outside into my backyard, taking in the sights, sounds and smells, and going for a long, slow-paced walk with nothing to distract me but Mother Nature.
Can you find nourishment in nature?
The difference between zoning out and truly nourishing yourself…
If we’re not walking away rested and more capable of handling life’s stressors, more than likely we were just ‘checking out’ rather than nourishing the self.
For example, checking out may be binge watching shows and movies on the couch for countless hours, treating yourself to an excessive amount of unhealthy food, drinking alcohol to take the edge off, or shopping for things you don’t really need.
Notice how these activities typically don’t energise, renew and fulfil you – aim to partake in activities that nourish you.
