Wellness and Overcoming Overwhelm
Building boundaries in self-isolation (sounds more dramatic than it is)
Overcoming Overwhelm was one of the topics that stood out to me as part of the Wellness Masterclass I’m participating in with a group online (thanks David for putting it together).
Ultimately, your wellness is about freedom.
Personally, my overall wellness and wellbeing are definitely better when I have more freedom.
While this class asked who do you want to be and what do you want to do, I think it’s much more important to ask how do you want to do it.
Our current self-isolation situation is a perfect example — maybe we are who we want to be, but aren’t doing what we want to do. So far in the first few weeks, I’m learning that this is not exactly how I want to do it.
A friend asked me what it is about the current environment that’s not optimal for who I want to be and what I want to do as a generous, creative leader. Not to focus too much on me, but this was my response:
The lack of freedom to go anywhere to work or brainstorm, being around people that inspire and motivate me, interacting with and mentoring my team members, events to speak at and learn from with others, working in varied environments with easy access to great healthy “fuel”, and places/things I can share with my network. I’m a better leader and a better creative the more I expose myself to these things regularly.
Nobody’s going to give you explicit permission to do what you want to do, the way you want to do it (especially because they likely don’t even know or understand what it is).
That’s where setting boundaries come in.
Brendon Burchard breaks boundaries down into three categories:
- Psychological (permission)
- Social (making requests)
- Tactical/personal (time blocking)
“When you have great wellness, it shows up on your calendar.”
This got me to think about boundaries simply in terms of blocks of time.
It is an important reminder for us all (or at least me and my team, when all the days blur together) and the workday doesn’t officially start or end at any particular time. Block off time for certain things and agree on boundaries with your collaborators, employer, partners, and family.
During self-isolation days at home for example, the first step I took was ensuring that I’m taking a break in the late afternoon/early evening for some fresh air and a walk.
While it’s tough for everyone to take action and make positive changes while the world experiences major stress and anxiety, taking some steps toward wellness can really help, whenever you’re ready.
If you’re interested in learning more about this and taking the course, the 10-day Wellness Masterclass with Brendon Burchard is completely free on Commune.
