In coaching we talk about having a working balance in three areas of your life; Career / Family / Self Care.

The connected world has brought wonderful enhancements from “Hey Google” tell me everything to sharing magical family moments on social media.

What has being connected done to your area of Self-Care? Is there still self-care time in your life?

Sometimes we mix it up and convince ourselves self-care time is happening when we are alone using our devices. … Not so! … I postulate that self-care at its best is when the input we get is from inside ourselves; not the input from the outside screen.

When was the last time you really paused and connected inside of you?

Try it more often.  If you can truly connect inside for hours at a time good for you.  For most of us five, maybe ten minutes, is the best we can muster and daily is just not happening.

Now is a good time for self-care. No, no, I mean literally right now!! Just sit for the next 5 minutes and witness what comes up for you.  Muse at how long it takes before you bounce up and ‘do’ something or reach for the phone for FOMO (fear of missing out).  All that inner dialog is input from inside.  It is telling you what you are mentally and emotionally focused on.

Do you see the value of these 5 minutes yet?  Just imagine how conflicted and off balance a person would be if the input from their head was all about things to do, fears, time pressure and a bunch of “what-ifs”, when what they really desire emotionally is calm, rest and just being in the moment. What a gift they now have by learning what they are focusing on in each moment is the opposite of what they truly want in life.

Hmmmm, let’s check how balanced your inside input was today. How many of your thoughts were focused on something other than what you truly want for yourself?  Focused on what others need or even demand vs. what you need to fuel yourself to thrive and be your most powerful self?

Make 2019 the time to inner connect, listen deeply to yourself.  Set aside wi-fi and go for me-fi.

Me time … it really is all it’s cracked up to be. 

Take it up a notch.

Written by: Merv Rogers, MCC - Chief Coaching Officer at Coaching Out of the Box^®