Take the Energy Drain Assessment now to identify your biggest energy drains and how to fix them!

Self-care is _________. 

Fill in the blank.

What came to mind? Anything around “selfish?”

Because that’s what I felt about self-care until I had a BIG breakthrough and realized that self-care isn’t selfish…

It’s actually strategic.

I knew I needed to take care of myself if I wanted to perform at my highest level but I didn’t really get it on a gut level, at the core of my being.

So, I didn’t do it. I didn’t create time and space to take care of myself.

As entrepreneurs, coaches, healers, counselors, consultants, world-changers, whatever you happen to be, we prioritize helping other people, we focus on being of service…

We focus on — dare I say it — changing the world.

And so, we always put the needs of other people over our own needs. It’s a common reflex — an instinct — because that’s who we are.

But what happens when you do this day after day after day? What happens when you choose others over yourself every time?

Your energy gets depleted and all of a sudden you don’t have enough to give anymore.

Or you give from a place of resentment or frustration or anger because you don’t have the energy for all the demands on your time. I know you can understand this intellectually but really getting it? That’s a whole other thing.

The Work-Rest Rhythm

Back in my 30s I thought I was invincible. I could put on a “cape” and I could do anything. I was a superhero.

This year I turned 40 and I know it’s a cliché to say that your body changes and you change when you turn 40, but it’s true.

I don’t have the energy that I had before.

Don’t get me wrong, I still have a LOT to give and I’m not going anywhere, anytime soon. I’m going to be creating stuff for another 40, 50 years but some things have changed.

I’m at a different point in my life. My body isn’t capable of grinding it out 12 or 15 hours a day, every single day.

My body wants to have a nice rhythm of work and rest and work and rest and that’s what the human body is built for — periods of activity and periods of rest.  

In my 30s I was SO bad at this that I was working with a coach and she had to do an intervention on me.

She’d say, “Marisa here’s what I want you to do… I want you to sleep when you’re tired, I want you to eat when you’re hungry and I want you to drink when you’re thirsty.” It seems kinda crazy to me that I tried to fight her on that!

So now I’ve gotten better at reading the cues and signals from my body and actually drinking when I’m thirsty, eating when I’m hungry and sleeping when I’m tired, and making sure that I go to bed at 11pm so I can wake up at 6 or 7 and really give my all,  every single day.

I’m also committed to eating healthy — the absolute best I’ve ever eaten. I want foods that fuel me rather than foods that drain me. I love sugar and I love cheese — my Dad’s from Wisconsin and that’s what they eat in Wisconsin – and my body craves all of that genetically but I’m rewiring my desires.

Shifting Your Identity

Beyond that, I’m committed to getting into the best shape of my life.

Every morning, I’m doing my scientific 7-minute workout and sometimes I do that two or three times a day. I’ve also got a personal trainer working with me for about 40 to 45 minutes almost every afternoon.

And every week Murray and I go hiking two to three times up to the top of a mountain and all the way back down. It’s really changed us on a deep level.

Now we think of ourselves as the kind of people who are active and who are taking care of ourselves and it’s created a new self-identity.

I’ve gone from someone who sits in my chair at my desk working all the time to someone who prioritizes moving my body and getting fit and healthy.

A lot of the time, these small micro shifts in behavior, this new commitment to daily or weekly self-care habits, will change how you show up for yourself in your work, for others and how you self-identify as a new kind of person — the kind of person who prioritizes self-care.

The Most Generous Thing

I’m doing all of these thing for myself, yes, but I’m also doing them for my tribe, for my people…

For you!

I’m doing it for my work in the world because when I feel great — when I’m “on fire” — I can give my best and be at my best for you.

Self-care is not selfish. It’s one of the most generous things you can do not just for yourself but for the world.

So, whether you’re someone who’s great at taking care of yourself or whether you’re someone who’s let it slide or you’re someone who has trouble maintaining the balance, what’s that one thing that you can commit to add to your self-care routine right away so you can feel energized, ready to take on the world and give at your highest level?

And if you’re not sure where your energy level is at, I’ve put together an Energy Drain Assessment for you 🙂

You’ll find out where your energy is going and if it’s not going into action, if it’s not going into serving at the highest level, where it is going and how can you plug those energy leaks so you can be in top form, feel great and be incredibly productive every day?

This Energy Drain Assessment’s going to give you the answers.

Take it here!

The World Needs You

I feel great about being 40, because now I feel like I’m coming into my own — I’m coming into my gifts and my talents, my contribution to the world.

I know what’s important to me and what’s not important… and I don’t care about what’s not important.

I care about what makes me happy what makes me tick, what makes me feel alive. I care about living my purpose and my message. Every single day.

So, let me know in the comments what’s the one thing that you are committed to adding to your self-care routine on a consistent basis?

You are important. You are worthy. You are fantastic.

And I love you…

So, take good care of yourself because we need you. The whole world needs you.

Now, go out there and Live Your Message.