What motivates you to go out to dinner?
Taking care of people all day and sometimes into the night can be exhausting. Not much energy left to take care of yourself. Even if you push yourself to do all the right things, like several minutes of mindfulness, exercise and eat right, there are probably times when you have that feeling of “Hey, it’s my turn, can someone please just think about and take care of ME for a few minutes”
Nurses and physicians spend all day caring for others and often in stressful situations. It’s no surprise that you feel burnt-out and have a desire to be cared for for a little while. That’s when I want to go out to dinner, to be taken care of and to socialize with other adults. It’s nice to have someone serve me for a change.
Just taking an attention break can help recharge you. In his book Deep Work, Cal Newport refers to studies which discuss directed attention being a finite resource. When you allow your attention to rest, you can restore your ability to focus your attention in the future. This rest includes an easy going attention such as with listening to music, having a conversation with a friend, or going for a walk in nature.
Taking time to treat yourself well adds benefits.There are times when you may be the only who will set yourself as the priority and you need to be the one who buys yourself a pampering gift,whether it be as a massage or new music you’ll listen to. Self-care may require you to hire a babysitter or swap childcare. You’ll get the most benefit if you’re willing to relinquish responsibility for a set amount of time. When you let go of responsibility you can also let go of directed attention. If you like to be in control, this may be challenging for you.
There are many women who choose the manicure pedicure route, or hair salon as a means of self-care. My husband chooses taking piano lessons. What do you do as a means to provide self-care from the outside in? Leave a reply
To explore the best self-care for you and what you can do to move from burnout to well-being, contact me for a consultation.
Revitalize Your Life,
Dina, 203.744.YOU3 (9683)
Improving well-being for professionals through coaching.
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And by the way, what does motivate you to go out to dinner?
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