With summer coming to a close, the time for getting back to school, back to work and going after a new season of goals is here. It’s a time for transformation. While change is a natural part of the season and necessary for our self-improvement, it is rarely a straightforward task. Making a change in oneself, not to mention leading change in the world, is challenging. As women leadHers, especially those of us with children and families, it is even more challenging and stressful to navigate all the things we are charged with doing. If you are feeling overwhelmed, and like you are the only one, let me give you some good news. It is not just you and you are not alone. Gender equality is an ongoing issue. The United Nations’ Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals is to “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. The global pandemic has unfortunately worsened gender disparities and the inequalities and injustice women face in work and in life. Empowering women is necessary before we can address and change gender inequality. That is why it is more important now than ever before that we focus on taking care of ourselves and inspiring ourselves to empower and help others to rise with us. Self-awareness and self-care are the first steps we need to help each other cope and maintain resiliency in the face of challenge and change.
At the 7th Annual Women Who Influence event this past summer, many of the speakers reminded us of the absolute essentialness of self-care. These women are exceptional leadHERs, and their success and achievements are a testament to their commitment to taking care of themselves so that they can be at their best for others. These women have accomplished some incredible goals, and at the foundation of their success was the strength of their commitment to self-care.
Recently, I spoke about goal setting and revisiting existing goals for 2021. The MO’re challenging the goal and the greater the effort required to achieve it, the MO’re you need to support yourself throughout the journey by practicing self-compassion and self-care. Despite increasing demands on our time and more happening in our lives, we must never sacrifice our self-care.
Self-care requires an integrative approach. If we only focus on one aspect of our wellbeing and forget about the rest, we will become out of balance. We need to return to ourselves and maintain a healthy mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual balance. It will take time, practice, and commitment to the process but with this “inside out approach”, you can work towards balance on the inside so that you can become MO’re authentic, happy, healthy, and resilient for everyone and to everything that matters in your life on the outside.
These are some of the self-care activities I am committing to this fall. I invite you to come along with me and join me in any or all these activities! Consider this your give “Back to You” challenge for September and, if you wish simply ‘step n’ repeat’ each month for the remainder of 2021.
Mental Self-Care
What thoughts do you have, and how do they impact your daily action? Being a lifelong learner is one of the best ways to consistently up-level your mental game. While some of us may be heading back to school or our children or someone we know is going back to school, let me remind you that learning does not just happen in the classroom.
I keep learning and growing by attending conferences, jumping on webinars, or plugging into my favourite podcast. There are so many places that learning can happen–especially now with the online education environment and opportunities.
This fall I’m looking forward to being part of some great learning opportunities with canfitpro in September at the “I Am Ageless Now Method Intensive” with Leslee Bender and in November at the canfitpro 2021 Online: Business & Leadership Event.
That’s not all! If you are really looking to learn then I would encourage you to learn more about how you can access and still register for the recordings of the canfitpro 2021 Online Global Conference. It is not too late to take advantage of all the valuable knowledge and insights that were shared in August. But know this is a limited time opportunity and only available until the end of September!
BONUS: If you are looking for more ideas and inspHERation to add to your personal self-care challenge check out these resources!
1: Get this FREE 30 Day MO’ments of Self-care Challenge I created. You can pick and choose the self-care activities and add them to your toolbox or choose to take the 30-day challenge this MO’nth!
2: Get this FREE C.H.A.N.G.E. LeadHership and Self-Care Calendar that was created for the 7th Annual Women Who Influence Event. You can pick and choose the self-care activities and add them to your toolbox or why not take the challenge this MO’nth!
3: Check out the Optimyz Magazine MIND & BODY Guide Special Interest Publication available on newsstands nationwide which features an Exercise, 28 Day Nutrition & Exercise Mindset MO’tivation calendar I created!
Post a photo to Instagram and tag me @mo_hagan to share what activity you chose to focus on this week for your mental self-care!
Check back next week for the next Give “Back to You” Challenge theme!
