Health

Today was a really interesting chapter, and it all centred around the whole “body is a temple” type of thing. It was interesting how they compared the effort that people go to with maintenance on cars, pets etc but never really give ourselves the same treatment. No, I don’t mean like shaving your legs (although ladies – seriously, if they’re more than stubble then I recommend you give it some attention stat). More like had a medical check up, a good night sleep, gym etc.

Think about it – if you don’t maintain your car then when they eventually break down you have a much bigger and costly problem.

On that note, let’s check in on how I’m doing.

Stress level (rating of 1-10; 10 being worst)? 4-5
Notes: One of the ladies that I work with today mentioned that I seemed more “zen”, which was really interesting and pleasing to hear. My workload at work is still unrelenting, and there are always some spot fires that need putting out, but I think I’ve embraced the whole “don’t stress over what you have no control over”. I’m trying to focus on priorities and setting expectations, and communicating what I can and can’t do. I’m getting a little bit better at leaving it at the door. I had a situation where normally I would be stressed and ropeable, and I think I managed myself pretty well in the circumstances. Something else happened after I left the office today which makes me a bit nervous about tomorrow, but I feel calm and able to think logically. I’m still waiting for the big test though.

Getting back to the challenge, the aim was to spend a bit of time looking after myself. Not just de-stressing, not just having a bath or a glass of wine, but something that is genuinely good for my long-term health.

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I’m slightly delayed with this post I know, but I have a good reason. See I went and had my massage yesterday afternoon, followed by visiting friends that just gave birth. By the time we got home it was after 9.30pm, and by that time it was more important to me to get to bed and try to get some quality sleep.

The massage was fantastic, but today I look like I’ve been punched in the face. I’d originally organised to just get a standard 60mins massage, but when I got there I decided to add the hot stones for an extra $20, and I’m totally glad I did. The masseuse said that she hadn’t seen anyone with my level of tension in quite a while, carried all through my shoulders and the back. This morning I can feel every section that she had to focus on, because my back muscles are sore. All for a great cause though right?

So, onto the stress levels:

Stress level (rating of 1-10; 10 being worst)? 5?
Notes: I had a great start to the morning with a fantastic run down the beach; unfortunately my GPS on my watch dropped out momentarily so I’m not sure of the exact distance or pace, but it felt great. My run had roll-on effects, as I felt more determined and motivated at work than I have in a while. I was productive and in control, and following that, as mentioned above, had a great afternoon and evening. The only residue stress right now is a bit of anxiety about work, as I know I’ve got a fair bit on today but as my comments below will show, I’m just going to focus on doing my best.

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I honestly don’t think this particular challenge could have come at a better time; today was a hard day. The challenge was to book in a massage with the aim to rest your body and your mind, balance your hormones, reset the system and get some sort of relief.

So bearing that in mind, how are my stress levels right now?

Stress level (rating of 1-10; 10 being worst)? 6 right now, but it reached a peak of 8 today. I’m constantly re-evaluating my past ratings as the days go on and I realise how severe it can get (to make sure I’m keeping the ratings in perspective).
Notes: Today was a tough work day, which for obvious reasons I can’t disclose what happened. I’m proud of myself for making myself leave on time however, and also that I haven’t resumed working from home this evening. Instead I’ve enjoyed dinner with my fiancé, hung out the washing, and I’m now relaxing before bed. On a positive note I started the day off with a nice walk along the beach with my dog with a stunning sunrise, and then a boot camp following that. Exercise is definitely helping to keep more serious stress levels at bay, and I’m looking forward to a morning run tomorrow.

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Today’s chapter was an interesting one. Obviously committing to the challenge is a must, but this really opened my eyes to what would happen if I did or didn’t work my way through. When things get hard later down the track, or I’m completely uncomfortable with the challenges I face, through working through this chapter I can help keep things in perspective.

The chapter asked four important questions, which I’ve documented below. I expect that I’m going to be re-reading this post quite a few times during the course of the month.

But first, my summary:

Stress level (rating of 1-10; 10 being worst)? 6
Notes: I returned back to work today so I actually expected to be a lot higher. I made an effort to focus on listing out the things that were stressing me and that I needed to think about later, “parked it”, and got back to the business at hand. I don’t think that’s a long-term strategy, but it got me through today. I ended up canning my plans for the evening (a meetup group) so I could spend the night relaxing at home, focusing on getting in some good work/life balance habits. So even though my list of stresses has grown, I’ve made a concentrated effort to leave it at the door, go home on time, and chill out – all of that resulted in a maintained level of 6.

Now to get down to business with the questions for the day!

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