By Dr. Sharon Gurm BSc, ND, Naturopathic Physician, Clinic Founder & Clinical Director
As 2012 draws to a close, and thousands of bloggers across the continent (and the world) share their tips for a safe, healthy, prosperous and wonderful new year – allow me to pipe in with sage advice of my own…perhaps this time, I’ll even take it.
This New Year – 2013 is YOUR year. A year where you will put time aside for yourself, and make commitments to do more things in your life that will help you reduce your levels of stress.. We all know that in today’s world, prioritizing has become a tougher task than ever before. That we the people, put jobs, money, and others (not necessarily in that order) before our own selves, and what can this cause?
B-U-R-N-O-U-T
The formula is simple, really: take care of yourself, so you can take care of everything else. But we don’t really do that do we? We work hour upon hour, volunteer, care for our family, tend to the home, focus on other responsibilities, and then, maybe – if we have time……take 5 minutes away to regenerate.
Seriously? I mean really, I’m tired just typing all that out and envisioning various scenarios of other people’s lives. And to think, some people actually live them.
We are all guilty of putting ourselves last – using reasoning that we need to go to work, have to do the laundry, must get the grocery shopping done, and while there is absolute truth in those statements – it’s how we approach those duties and how we balance ourselves and our lives that can get us through even the craziest of times.
That being said, it’s easier to preach than practice. I can run for months at 100 kilometers an hour, but eventually, I WILL crash. I will get sick. Then I’m forced take time to regenerate and recuperate – and when you think of the cost associated with burning the candle at both ends and the health risks associated with not taking care of yourself, one must ask: Is it truly worth it? Can you safely say you’d rather run at high speeds, burn out and reload…only to do it again in a few months? We’re nuts to think we can go on like that forever – heck even the biggest supercomputers can crash from time-to-time.
Now that being said, let’s make a pledge together: Let’s make a daily date with ourselves….get out, get active, have tea, get a massage, go to yoga, come by the clinic for meditation – whatever works for you, and focus on a happier, healthier you. Only then can you truly focus on all the others items on that giant to do list. It’s not the easiest thing in the world for me to do – I’m not comfortable putting myself first, but I’m tired of burning out and exhausting myself.
Join me on a new adventure for 2013….YOU TIME. It may sound foreign, but taking time for yourself, coupled with balance, is a recipe for healthy success.
