I Begin.....Again

Happy New Year!
As we begin our with our theme for 2008: "Transformed Inside Out", an avid listener of my Word-for-the-Week recently posed the following question:
Coach Kaye, I listen to the 92.7 fm station in Charlottesville, Va and I am always inspired when I hear your segment and the advice that you give. What advice can you give me regarding staying focused and accomplishing my goals and dreams? I do know that taking better care of myself will allow me to be able to take care of my family, but its hard to find to workout, pamper myself and some of the other things that it takes to take care of myself.

Thank Ashley for posing this very important question. It sounds like your are a very busy lady. And yes, when we are tied to the roles of motherhood, life partner, employee etc., it is definitely challenging to find time to care for yourself. However, it is a necessity!

One of the most important things we can do while trying to work on accomplishing our goals, care for ourselves and others is to create boundaries, or parameters that dictate how we use our time and teach people how to treat us. Simply put, a boundary defined means: letting others know where they end and I begin. We simply cannot allow others to monopolize all of our time and all of our resources. If we don't put a stop to it, we find ourselves all used up!

It's time for you to deliberately create your safe guards and begin again! Empower yourself to make a fresh start by scheduling a small increment of time, maybe 30 minutes at first, letting others know this is your uninterrupted time. Next, dedicate the space where you will retreat to. Sit down in your space and create your do not disturb sign. Then use it as a teaching moment by explaining to others about your need for improved self care and boundaries to protect your time. Then hang your do not disturb sign on your closed door. Stand firm in making this commitment to yourself. Do not answer the phone or other any requests during your time of retreat (unless of course it is a real emergency).

These are small steps you can take to begin to change behaviors including your own. Over time, you should increase the allotted intervals of time you wish to dedicate to your self care. Remember, planning and writing down your goals for change will accomplish nothing unless you change the behavior first. You must become the change you want to see. In the meantime, prepare for your daily retreat by strategically redeeming the time before you waste a single moment!