5 Steps to Reclaiming Your Vitality
Feeling Chronic Stress at Work?
Try these Simple Techniques
Wake up tired. Go through the day with lingering headaches. Sunday night anxiety. Lingering exhaustion that you can’t seem to shake. If this sounds like you, then you might be on the verge of burnout.
Did you know that in in 2019 the World Health Organization claimed burnout an international “occupation phenomenon”? Notice that this date was pre-covid, layer on a global pandemic and rates of burnout have increased. (Reference: https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases)
As someone who has weathered their own bout of professional burnout, I can tell you it was one of the darkest times of my life. I went from a vibrant life-loving person to a wilted version of myself. Clouded by overwhelm, I let go of many of the things that I knew gave me life because I simply did not have the energy. When I finally hit my breaking point, I had severe body aches, gained weight, lost touch with important people in my life and had an overactive stress response system that impacted everything in my life. EVERYTHING.
It was time to reclaim my vitality.
Reclaiming your vitality
What exactly is vital energy? Put simply, it is the source of your wellbeing. Western culture describes it as power, energy, passion, flow or core strength. Hindu traditions call it Prana while Chines traditions call it Chi. These energies flow throughout our entire system creating health and vitality, but they aren’t generating without conscious attention and care.
Vitality gives you the ability to be fully present to yourself and life in a way that feels sustainable. It is associated with ease, joy, contentment and discernment. Western society speaks of the body and mind as separate entities, like the bodies only purpose is to cart our brain around – but the body and the mind work together, we can’t have health in one if we don’t have health in both
How to Reclaim Your Vital Energy
#1 Let Go of the Goal: When was the last time you did something just for the fun of it without focusing on an outcome? Allow yourself to release the to-do list and embrace the element of play for the sake of fun itself. Nothing more.
#2 Stand Up More: According to the National Institute of Health (NIH) there is a direct relationship between sedentary behavior and low mood. It’s no surprise that sitting all day is bad for your health and no amount of exercise is going to counteract that. On average, U.S. adults sit for 6.5 hours per day – that’s 25% of your day! So, if you want to shift your mood and energy – stand up! Get a sit-stand desk or use technology to your benefit by using your smart device to set reminders to move a couple times an hour.
#3 Establish Healthy Boundaries: creating rituals for when your workday begins, and ends allows you to have set markers for when “work” gets done. For example, I have daily work rituals I use, this teaches my brain to turn on and off when I need it. Having access to your work all the time may seem like a great way to get caught up with your never-ending list of to-dos and by allowing yourself to always be available you are teaching people how to treat you. That 9pm text from a colleague that is going to get your mind swirling about work simply isn’t worth the attention you give it.
The executives I coach struggle with the perception of being available and often overextend themselves which can lead to resentment and establishing unstainable expectations. If you aren’t meeting your own needs while meeting others, your vitality is going to take a hit and you are one step closer on the road to burnout.
#4 Embrace the Wisdom of Your Body: Your body is amazing and intelligent, take time to regularly check in with a body scan. A body scan is a meditative practice that mindfully creates awareness of our body’s sensations. Allows you to feel more connected to yourself and gain insights about how you are feeling, and unwanted feelings associated with burnout. Science has shown that regularly conducting a body scan activates the part of brains that know how to thrive not just survive. It also counteracts just about all of the items listed at the beginning of this article. When you do these types of practices you are strengthen the part of your nervous system associated with resting and restoring (parasympathetic nervous system). The more you practice the easier it is to interrupt the stress response – which is where most people have become accustomed to living their life.
#5 Talk to an Objective Party: having a trusted resource during challenging times can make all the difference in gaining perspective and getting out of our own head.
You don’t need to go it alone; burnout can feel incredibly isolating. You can hire someone to gain clarity in how to invest your most precious energy and regain your vitality. If you would like to create a complementary game plan of what that may look like for you. Book a free strategy session with me here.
I encourage your try on one of the reclaiming your vitality options above for a month and see how you feel. Place a reminder on your calendar or smart phone and take a small step towards regaining your own vitality. Never underestimate the power of a small consistent step done over an extended period of time. What gets prioritized and scheduled gets done – you are worth it!!! I’d love to hear from you and what you learn – please send a message or contact me directly at angelina@3elements.space
Till next time!