By Robyn C. Hill, LPCC
Well, August was supposed to be about physical health and wouldn’t you know it, I was too sick to get last month published. On July 31st, I learned that my uncle passed. He was one of my father’s brothers, the uncle that we saw the most of growing up. I could hear the devastation in my father’s voice when he delivered the news and I could feel the shock from my cousins who had just lost their father. The grief weighed heavy on the entire family because we all grew up so close-knit and even though I was allowing myself to feel, the grief still attacked my body.
I experienced a migraine like no other. The tension was all through my back and the epicenter of the pain was right at the base of my skull that would send throbbing pain to the front of my head. Once I ruled out that it was my blood pressure or any other serious illness, I quickly got in to get a professional massage. The therapist let me know that there was a lot of tension in my back and I admitted to myself that massages need to be a regular part of my self-care.
I am a mental health therapist and have operated my private practice for 10 years. I work with emotions for a living and because of my inconsistencies with self-care, I did not have the physical buoyancy to manage my own emotions when this crisis hit. That is not to say that with increased self-care I would not have felt a major impact with the loss of my uncle, because the loss was definitely great. However, the impact of that loss had a major effect on my work productivity for about 2 weeks. I had literally fallen ill and could not work.
It was unexpected but eye opening. When we set out to create our professional goals, we rarely factor in physical and self-care into them. I would randomly engage in “me-time” but I have not been as deliberate as I am about work goals. Generally, we set professional goals with start dates, plan of action, and end date. We have methods of measuring the goals probability and efficacy. And we need to put the same effort into developing “Me Goals.”
Me Goals should encompass everything outside of your professional goals. Be deliberate about traveling, family time, dietary lifestyle, spirituality, socializing, rest, developing hobbies, community service, physical activity, intellectual stimulation, and emotional maintenance. Re-evaluate the plans that you have created to make sure that they are still efficient as you continue to grow professionally. I have never had stress attack my physical as intensely as it did last month, but it made me realize that I needed to recalibrate my Me Goals to where I am in life now, both professionally and personally.
Let’s embark on this goal setting journey together! I have launched my Success Seekers® Leadership and Entrepreneur Mentoring Program. The community is free to join, just subscribe here on this site and you will get information on the App where we have forum discussions and will get invitations to the ‘Meeting of the Minds” the intense 6-month online mentoring where we will network and engage in the self-work to create balance on your success journey. I look forward to working with you!
