3 questions to ask yourself
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So life has been exceptionally busy lately and I’ve been struggling to fuel up my tank. Against my best advice I feel like I’ve been running on fumes this last while. Not recommended!
Anyway while cleaning my kitchen I turned on Brene Brown’s podcast Unlocking Us. The episode that played was just what I needed to hear!
Brene was very openly struggling with her own feelings of burn out and her guest that episode was Karon Wolrond who spoke of “accessing joy and finding connection in the midst of struggle.” Worth a listen in its entirety if you’re in need of inspiration too.
Now the big take away from the listen was some simple advice Karen offered when feeling down. It’s asking yourself 3 simple questions. And doing so has been really helpful for me! It’s not always easy to find something accessible when you’re feeling tapped out. But this has been doable and useful…so I though I would share! Below is an except from the podcast.
Karen: “One thing that helps me, especially when I’m struggling is I ask myself three questions. And this is a really good, easy thing to do, and you don’t even have to have a page. Literally, just jot it down. And the three questions are:
How can I feel connected today? How can I feel healthy today? And how can I feel purposeful today?
How can I feel connected, healthy, and purposeful? And you think about it in that moment.
How can I feel connected? Okay, I don’t want to talk to anybody. You know what? I’m going to text Brené. I’m just going to be like, “Hey, having a hard time but thought of you.” So, I’m going to write that down on my to-do list.
How can I feel healthy today? Well, I sure as hell am not in the mood to go to the gym, let’s say. I’m tired, I’m exhausted. You know what? I’m just going to drink a lot of extra water today. Or, I am going to take a disco nap, a 20-minute nap at some point today. And I put that on my to-do list.
How can I feel purposeful today? Well, what can I do? What can I do? Maybe I’m going to read the paper and find out more… I don’t even know where Ukraine is on a map, I’m going to do that. I don’t even understand what the phrase “defund the police” means, I’m going to look that up. Or donate something to a cause or whatever. But what’s something that taps into purpose? And put that on my to-do list.
And that’s it. And start a practice of doing that.”
I wrote those words: CONNECTED, HEALTHY, PURPOSEFUL on a white board on my fridge. Those simple questions have been touchstones for me as I orient myself towards finding more balance in my life. Hope it can be useful for you too!
