I eased into my Sunday morning, even though I had a ton left over that I needed to take care of yesterday. My body told me it was time for a rest, so I did what any Type A would do when my body tells me it's time to slow down, I went a couple more days of pushing hard before my body grabbed me by the shoulders, shook me and told me, "Hey little mamma, time for rest already!" 

So, instead of plunging through my Saturday, I took time for rest. But you know, it's only restful if you consciously put down "all the things" that roam around in your mind, right? Raise your hand if you're a Type A that has a hard time putting things down mentally (pause for raise of hands).

I've got a lot to accomplish today, but the great thing is, because I took yesterday to rest, I see a clear path to execute all the things today. With organized thoughts, I know there's plenty of time even with all those deadlines. 

How many of you get overwhelmed with the workload, life, family and feel like there's never enough hours in each day? 

The key to not feeling overwhelmed and like time is scarce is CLARITY + STILLNESS. Now some of you may be thinking, "yeah, the first part makes sense, everyone needs clarity to be able to tackle a long list of obligations, but how can I be still when I have so much to get done?"

The reality of stillness is, that clarity comes in stillness; resting, exercising, it comes from changing your physiology. Rest isn't just for your physical being, it applies to your mental being most importantly. In fact, the more mental exhaustion you endure, the more drain on your physicality you create. 

How many of you have a ton of things on your list to get done, and find yourself spinning in circles, not really accomplishing anything, and constantly have the deadline flashing before your eyes, only to realize you’re not actually being productive. You know you have all this stuff to accomplish, so you sit there in front of the computer screen, and find yourself distracted by social media scrolling, reading up on your favorite dishes on Pinterest, staring at the screen, reading through documents that you have to reread 5 times because your mind was so distracted?? Sound familiar? That’s your mind telling you that it needs a clear map; rest; direction. 

When I feel stuck, lack of clarity about a certain challenge or problem, I have to break away and change my physiology…take a mental rest from trying to find resolution. Going for a jog, doing some house chores, laying on the hammock with some music, any of these things gives my mind rest, and usually I find the clarity within a short time of doing the “other things”. 

 As a Type A, if I don’t schedule “mental rest activities” in my book, I go full-force into my week, tackling one mountain at a time (well maybe several mountains at once) and plunging through my week being productive, solving problems, and feeling …well, quite kick-ass really. But the truth is, if I don’t schedule my mental breaks, I hit a wall. And my brain + my body remind me of this EVERY time I forget it. 

Self-Love  Self-Audit  Self-Nourishment  Self-Awareness

These are key critical practices of ALL Overachievers; the most productive and effective individuals you know, you don’t know, you’ve heard of. There’s NO-WAY around that. 

1.    Self-Love- Take the time to cheer yourself on just like you would a girlfriend that you truly believe in and adore. Speak to yourself like the child you would encourage to believe in their own abilities + show yourself the affection you would show someone you’re in love with. It’s scientifically proven that we live up to our expectations of ourselves. Love yourself + believe in yourself, and your expectations of yourself rise. 

2.    Self-Audit- I schedule regular benchmarks, weekly, monthly, quarterly, + yearly. For Business + Life. The truth is, if you don’t take the time to analyze and recognize what’s working + what’s not working, you’ll wind up burnt out, dysfunctional, unproductive, undirected, and underwater wondering how you got there. Sadly, many people go years, decades even, before they take a step back and Self -Audit. In fact, most won’t self-audit until they are in pain. Until they are suffering greatly. 

3.    Self-Nourishment- This is an all-encompassing practice. You can’t be all high + mighty about what you put into your body and then sit in front of the TV and watch 10 hours of the Kardashians and expect to feel nourished, sister. Nourishment is about what you feed your body, what you put on your body, what you feed your mind, what you feed your spirit, the people you spend your time with, the language you use. You can’t expect to succeed and accomplish great things + realize your dreams without actively, consistently nourishing yourself. Nourishment is the House required for you to live in to achieve your best life. 

4.    Self-Awareness- If you don’t know who you are Sweet Cheeks, if you don’t know what you love, what you’re passionate about, what’s a deal breaker for you, where you want to go, what you want out of life, your relationships, then you CANNOT map the route to get there, Sister. Take the time to get to knowyourself; love yourself. If you don’t know what you have to offer, how can you best serve others? How can you be the ideal mate? Your best self? When you aren’t self-aware, and live accordingly consciously, intentionally, you’ll find yourself in the wrong story time after time until you put yourself in check and figure yourself out. That means spending time with yourself absentof other people’s opinions and influences. This is a key component to sustainable joy. To healthy relationships. To a successful business, elevated professional performance. You’re doing yourself and the World a disservice when you’re unaware. The way you wind up in the Right Story, starts with being self-aware. 

Much Love to you. If you want to hear more, subscribe to our newsletter. And as always…Onward + Upward!

XOX

~M