Nourish Your Mind, Body and Soul
It's a term I heard a lot and had no idea what that looked like for me. I also know now that I wasn't putting it into practice. I feel like when it comes to "performance," there is a certain level of care you need to put your attention to because the only instrument you have is your physical body.
To put it in simple terms, the more you become better at taking care of your mind, body and soul, the better you become. By better, I mean activating your capabilities, gifts, strengths, and having access to creativity and clarity. Nourishment supports us by having space to feel the emotions we need to feel to move us forward. We flourish, blossom, and thrive in the land of nourishment. We FEEL GOOD. It's like a weight lifted off our shoulders.
We are living in a world full of do-ers, high achievers, and we are getting $*** done, taking action, wanting to get to the next level, achieving, accomplishing, slaying, or whatever new term the world wants to throw our way. When we take a moment to breathe and relax, we still want to be DOING something. Many of us have been DOING since eternity.
When I left my corporate job and resigned in 2014, I had nothing to "do" except the obvious, apply for jobs so I could pay my bills again. It felt awful. I went from someone who was continually trying to achieve to now having no one to answer to anymore. I had nowhere to "achieve," respond to, facilitate, attend a meeting, gossip with, complain to, research my next certification so I can compete against my colleagues and be better, ask for more money, ask to do more value add work, etc. I think you get the idea. All of that was GONE because I chose to leave it all behind in the hopes that I would find something better. When you are trained that you need to hustle hustle hustle, you sometimes forget about the human being behind it, which is YOU. You forget that you have needs, wants, dreams, desires, and there is a soul part of you too. There are many parts of us that we are sometimes avoiding, ignoring or believing the lie that we can't have it all anyway so why bother.
I used to be someone who put my work ahead of my needs. I used to be someone who when I had a lot of work on my plate, I would neglect the fun stuff, me stuff, and say I don't have time for that right now. Who am I to book a vacation now? Who am I to get a mani-pedi in the midst of this? Who am I to try to find a relationship when I don't have the time right now? Who am I to spend my money on things that bring me joy, instead I will save it for a mortgage...and I'm still trying to save for that day, by the way.
I realized that as much as I LOVE my work NOW, I create a balance. I no longer put my business in front of my needs. I take time during the day for breaks; I don't overextend my schedule, I strategically schedule coaching calls and have a certain number that I take per day. I take time to eat because it nourishes my body. I take time to read books that interest me at night or on the weekends because it feeds my mind. I check in with myself to see what my soul is calling me towards. I pay attention to what excites me. I lean into the feeling I get around others, do I feel safe with them, do I feel generosity, do I feel open, do I feel respect, and I follow my intuition because it guides and protects me.
I check-in and ask myself, what do I need because I am responsible for taking care of my body, mind, and soul all at the same time. We are physical beings with a soul or spirit, a connection to God or the Universe. I believe that this life we have is a rental. It's like we accepted an agreement before we were born that we are renting out this body and for a limited time only. We are a limited edition, sort of speak. Cool eh?
The more I began to learn new ideas, skills, and gained more knowledge, the more I opened myself up and to people, the more I received, the more I took care of my needs, focused on people that bring me joy, focused on experiences that feed my soul, the more my life began to flourish, and the happier I became. I learned that I didn't need to do everything I was trying to fit in and I learned this because I saw others doing things differently than the status quo, and they looked happy and free.
The more I invested in my personal fund, whether that be spending money or not, the more freedom I began to feel. I showed up differently in my work, and I vibrated on a new level that people who met me years ago say to me now, Sonia, you are so happy now. Yes, yes, I am. I was done choosing others over me. I was ready to nourish me and figure out what brings me joy. I was ready to be the rebel I never thought I was allowed to be and started to break down my beliefs around money, dating, partnership, career, friendships, and family. I have this wild and rebellious side that gives me a thrill and she is freaken awesome when she comes out.
Here are a few examples of nourishing my mind, body and soul:
My Mind - Reading, taking courses on leadership or personal development, taking classes to build my skills, attending webinars, attending seminars or conferences, meeting up with exciting humans, collaborating on projects, getting a ticket to see a theater play, changing my outside environment as often as I can, experiencing new cultures, talking to new people, getting curious about other people who "seem" different than me, allowing others to teach me something, vulnerability and allowing others to be who they are without judgement.
My Body - Yoga, barre, body pump class, walking outside, booking an RMT massage, drinking smoothies, drinking celery juice, eating more fibre (ya, I know!), eating more protein and veggies, stretching, going to the sauna or steam room, relaxing, booking vacations where I can be on a beach and tan and soak up the sun because it feels SO good to me. I am working on figuring out how to get out of Toronto for six months of the year to be somewhere HOT instead.
My Soul - Travel, coaching beautiful humans reach new levels, dating men who excite and respect, being a part of a broader community outside of my family, going after what I want and not apologizing for it, creating opportunities for others, allowing others to FEEL good, giving the little girl inside of me everything she ever dreamed about and did I say travel?
What's on your list for nourishment?
Where do you need to take care of you more?
Here's a tip to know when/if you need more nourishment....if you start a new conversation with someone and complain instead of talking about the positive things, you need NOURISHMENT. Here's a fun exercise, pay attention to your friends when they speak and count how many times they come to you with negative complaints, you'll be amazed.
Want to learn more about this? I have two options:
- RSVP to my Self-Love Online Masterclass on November 19th at 7 PM here
- Schedule a 30-minute complimentary coaching call with me here, and let's dive in and see where you need more nourishment.
I hope we get to work together soon.
Love, Sonia