How are you feeling? Are you sick yet?!

Did you have a good summer? Are you feeling refreshed and ready to deal with:

• The month of October when somehow a 24-hour day morphs into one with several more hours?
• Meeting all your 4^th quarter goals and objectives?
• Those end of year performance goals…sales goals, and then…
• The HOLIDAYS! Yes, they’re coming up quickly too! Religious holidays … Halloween … Thanksgiving … okay, I’ll stop there so you can sleep tonight.

I also worry about your employees. If you yourself are feeling ever slightly overwhelmed, how do you think they feel? Engaged? Productive? (Nope!)

SPOILER ALERT, as a nurse for over 30 years let me tell you how this plays out.
“I don’t feel good, it must be…

• My allergies….”
• My child brought this cold home from school…”
• My sinuses always act up this time of year…”
• My stomach has been acting weird…”
• I think I hurt my back at the gym…”
• I need to get to the gym (!) …”
• This season is always when I get migraines…”

It does NOT have to be this way!

The mind and the body work together. Your body is listening to you! It can hear you say, “How am I ever going to get all this done? I don’t even look forward to these holidays anymore.”

I think we all agree it is more socially acceptable to say, “I don’t feel good,” rather than, “I have too much to do! I’m exhausted!”

[SPOILER ALERT: Burnout is an official medical diagnosis, per the World Health Organization.  More on this at the end.]

NOW, not later, is when you want to introduce a Mindfulness practice into your life. And into the lives of your colleagues and team members that are working so very hard for you, for your company, and for their families and friends.

A Mindfulness “program” is not complicated. You do not have to get up at 4:30 am and go to the gym or drag your tired self there at night. This can be a one-time workshop where you’ll quickly and easily learn the basics and tools that you tap into when needed – you will know how to keep yourself healthy and engaged when you need it most … both now and in the future!

And since Mindfulness is a practice of non-judgment, please do not judge yourself or others if any of this rings a bell. You truly are doing the best you can!

Are you thinking, “I don’t have time for this… or we don’t have time for a program right now!”?

Then do you have the time to be sick right now? How much is it costing you to have your employee out sick or showing up at work sick and not really be present?

Isn’t it finally time to learn another way to deal with such a challenging period of time?

It is time to put the oxygen mask on yourself first and then look around you and see with fresh eyes who else you can help support.  The health of you – and everyone around you – will improve greatly.

***Burnout is now a legitimate medical diagnosis, according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), the World Health Organization’s handbook that guides medical providers in diagnosing diseases.

Per the handbook, doctors can diagnose someone with burnout if they meet the following symptoms:

1. feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
2. increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job
3. reduced professional efficacy

 

PHOTO CREDIT: twinsfisch on Unsplash