Sometimes the truth stings a little. And sometimes it takes a little tough love from family to finally make me say that enough is enough. And it’s time for me to share what truths are currently giving me a sting.
You guys know me, you all know that I’ve been a pharmacist for over 9 years. I’m responsible for ensuring that I help my patients be as healthy as possible. I’m also a pharmacy team leader responsible for the day to day work flow and metrics of a retail pharmacy while ensuring that my technicians are being supported. I also became a health and wellness coach a little over 2 years ago to help support and encourage others on their health journey by sharing my own journey “out loud” on social media.
These 2 roles, the pharmacist role and the health coach role, give me the opportunity to share health tips, health topics, exercise tips, my favorite workouts and anything else that I think might be helpful to you all. And I do. I share all of these tips along with lots of motivational quotes.
Here’s the stinging truth…the truth that I’m struggling with now…everything that I stand for should be front and center in my own life.
I have not been taking some of my own advice to heart, nor have I been following some of my own advice.
I try my hardest to stay positive, see the best in each situation and keep moving forward. Some days this is a real struggle.
I’ll start with the things that I DO follow – I eat healthy and clean at least 80% of the time and I exercise at least 6 days per week. I’ve got these 2 habits down! I also read or listen to some type of personal development each day. I’m also plugged into a challenge group that I host each month for daily support with my health and fitness journey.
Here’s where I get a little off track. I’m just going to lay it all out there, get it off my chest then tell you guys what my next steps are.
- I don’t sleep enough at all during the week.
- I don’t eat enough at all during the days that I work because my store is crazy busy - literally all of the time.
- I don’t manage my stress well at all. I’m the type of person that internalizes everything. I try to sort through, cope with and deal with everything on my own.
- I worry too much about what others think of me as a person, what my boss thinks of my work performance, what you all think of my Coaching adventure, what my customers think of me as a pharmacist, and on and on.
- I’m overwhelmed with my job and work required. So much to the point that I’m unhealthy because of the stress that I’ve allowed to build over the last two years.
- I don’t always have energy.
- I don’t always enjoy my day.
- I’m not always optimistic.
I’m sure you’re all wondering why I’m sharing all of these far from perfect things. There are a few things that I know for sure. A few things that I’ve decided are holding me back and keeping me stuck. Striving for perfection is a horrible way to live, worrying to the point of exhaustion is a horrible way to live, being fearful of failing is a horrible way to live and being stressed to the max without doing anything about it is a horrible way to live.
Sharing my story and sharing my struggles will help me heal. If I tell you all about what I’m going through, this will make me do something about it all.
By sharing this story, I also know that there’s one person who’s feeling this same way right now and going through at least one of these struggles and would love to know that they aren’t alone.
You’re not alone.
Now I’ll share with you my game plan. I’m a thinker and planner.
I’m the first person to say, if you’re not happy, make some changes. But this is another piece of my own advice that I’m not following.
So - now – it’s time – changes will be made – across the board in every area of my life.
This is where I’ll share my tips with you guys. (These are the tips that I’m reminding myself of each day)
1. Reconnect to your why
2. Recommit to your goals
3. Recommit to your health and happiness
4. Just make it happen
Today I’ve spent time reflecting on why I became a pharmacist and why I became a health and wellness coach. I’ve reconnected to my why. I’ve recommitted to my health, myself and my success. I’ve recommitted to taking steps each day to be the healthiest and happiest I’ve ever been. I’m taking back control. I’m also one who jumps in all the way, so I’ll be tackling a few of my issues all at once – my environment, my sleep habits and my stress control.
The next step will be taking care of the overwhelm that I’m feeling in my environment at work and at home. Our physical environments have such an effect on our calmness, our creativity and our stress levels. Cleaning out, reorganizing and minimizing are much needed in both areas. I spend almost as much time at work as I do at home, so I’m going to be sure that both environments are as calm as possible.
I’m also going to begin taking my daily sleep habits more seriously. I know darn well that sleep is one of the most important parts of being healthy, but I don’t know why I can’t get myself on track. I’m beginning tonight and will work myself up to at least 7 hours of sleep.
Now, on to my stress control plan. This is going to be the most difficult of all for me to actually stick to. I’m going to schedule into each day at least 30 minutes to sit and read in quiet. This will be the perfect time for me to actually finish a complete personal development book! I’m going to begin taking time to do more of what I enjoy – researching health topics to share with you all, spending time with my family, spending time with Burney because he’s one of the most entertaining people I know, crafting a little, shooting more and practicing my skills teaching PiYo.
I’ve shared this with you all because I know that I’m not alone in these feelings of overwhelm, frustration and stalling out. And now that I’ve said this all out loud to you, I’m accountable to my own promises.
This journey back to myself won’t be easy. But getting back to myself is all that will help me solve these feelings. Taking back control of my life and my physical and emotional health must be a priority.
We each must make ourselves a priority.
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