My pillars

“Time and health are two precious assets that we don’t recognize and appreciate until they have been depleted.” – Denis Waitley

Quite simply, I love feeling strong and I love feeling healthy. Over the past few years I have really started to understand and appreciate my body and its limits. From what seemed like a very foreign concept, investing in myself and practicing self care is now second nature (well… most of the time, and as much as you can with two littlies). Of course, it’s a balance between doing too little and being overwhelmed, but the one thing that has really imprinted itself is the power of saying no. With a baby and a toddler, my current capacity is generally up to one activity outside the house per day. Physically I can absolutely do more than that, but psychologically I’d be a wreck and it is unsustainable to be constantly out and about. Occasionally I will commit to more but I have to make sure there is a homebody day on the horizon, not only for me to recharge but also for my kids. Working on that connection with each other, being compassionate to ourselves and any big feelings that arise, and usually heading outside for some vitamin D and nature exploration.

For me I feel there are a few broad categories or “pillars” that lead to me feeling my healthiest and strongest. These being; physical, social, emotional, intellectual, and financial.

Physical - Nutrition and activity are high priorities for me. If I’m eating well and being physically active then generally speaking I am feeling good. For as long as I remember I have had a sensitive gut, which can quite easily be thrown into disarray so eating well (mostly) helps to maintain a status quo in my belly. I also tend to feel a little time poor so rather than ‘exercise’ I like to use the term activity. It may not be something structured, but small bouts of intentional movements all count in my mind.

Social - I am most definitely an introvert by nature. I like to look inwards, I prefer smaller groups, and I recharge best when I’m in my own space. In saying that I do love a good dose of social activity every so often and something I have really started to understand over the past few years is to foster relationships with those who elevate me and who accept my quirks. A sense of community and even giving back (where possible) helps me to fill my social bucket.

Emotional - This pillar encapsulates a whole gamut of things that contribute to a balanced emotional state; sleep, mindfulness, gratitude, meaningful relationships, spiritual awareness, and a sense of purpose. As a mum, I truely believe that the primary caregiver sets the tone for the house and there have been numerous occasions where I’ve seen the fragility of our family when it’s me in particular who is feeling even somewhat unhinged. Giving this pillar some air time makes me feel more confident in feeling the feels and regulating them as best as possible (both for myself and the kids. One quote I love is ‘an escalated adult can not de-escalate and escalated child’…. It’s so true!).

Intellectual - I love to put my brain to good use, and I love to learn. Can’t say I retain a lot but at the time it feels so good to be using different parts of the brain! Since having kids I’m a huge fan of podcasts as you can multitask while listening, and there is amazing content out there no matter what subject you’re into. I generally listen to (or read if I get the chance) topics that are relevant to what I’m going through at the time. Part of this pillar is also recognising and expanding on creative abilities. I have to say I am so excited I now have a toddler and can influence her to do arts and crafts. The sewing machine doesn’t make much of an appearance these days, but paints and crafts are a huge hit.

Financial - Often an overlooked area and as much as I would like to believe money doesn’t bring happiness, for me it is helpful to have money, it does contribute to my happiness, and it also brings a feeling of security especially when I look to my future. One of my personal financial goals is to ensure that I can live a comfortable retirement for when/if it happens.

This is a very brief overview of how I see each pillar and what they mean to me, and hopefully I will be able to flesh these out in future posts. Realistically, I see each one as being on a sliding scale, if you could almost envisage a DJ’s mixer with all controls moving up and down depending on what needs to be done to improve the song. I don’t know if you can reach a total equilibrium with each pillar perfectly in sync but here’s to trying to balance them out and head towards that rounded way of life.