Christmas Audit
Another new month begins, this last month of 2018 dawns and in just over 4 weeks another brand new year full of opportunity beckons with 2019.
This either makes you groan or yelp for joy! I sincerely hope for most of you it’s the latter.
If 2018 was kind to you or more likely was a mixed bag of triumphs and challenges, these last few weeks are a great chance to wind down the year with careful reflection and kindness to ourselves and those in our lives. For December I want to reflect and encourage everyone to do so. It’s a simple enough practice that usually is associated with New Year’s eve and is followed with resolutions no-one ever fulfills. Reflection is also a luxury in this age of technology where all our attention is driven outwards and our lens of the world is through one screen or another.
Whether we look forward to the Christmas festivities or not, it does potentially mean some well earned rest hopefully for most of us and a great time for reflecting on the past year but also on ourselves. (Those with little people may scoff at this point!)
What I find is that towards the end of the year I often observe an imbalance. It is subtle and hard to discern and it is the imbalance created by a flurry of work demands, attending to loved ones and the usual worries around finances and work stresses. The key to this imbalance is between mind and body as we race faster through our routines to make sure we stay on top of things and meet all the deadlines, whether work related, emotional or family. Our minds and bodies have been stretched throughout the year and often neglected. Gym memberships are not honored, late nights working or lunchtimes at the desk mean the odd take away is often up to 4–5 times a week. We nourish ourselves less and less as the year progresses and demands of life and work compound our serenity.
A healthy lifestyle with movement and exercise, a body nourished with wholesome food and nutrition keep us fueled for the tough times, keep us from running on empty.
With the holiday season upon us, we should audit our emotional and physical lives and ask if they are in sync. Are we kind to ourselves, do we take care of this body, this vessel that will take us through the years? That needs maintenance and care. The relationship between mind and body, between nutrition, exercise and mental resilience is well researched and documented but it isn’t until we apply it to our lives that we fully appreciate what a precious gift health is. The physical and emotional health.
At HR innovate we will form a team to take part in the Nicosia Marathon races. Not everyone will run, many will walk, but it isn’t just another CSR campaign, it is also to promote this balance, this attempt at wellness.
There will always be deadlines and obstacles to getting that run in or taking that hour out to go to the gym. But if we are religious about self-care the way we are about fulfilling work obligations we will find ourselves not only more productive and healthier but best of all, happier.
Your body pays you back when you keep it fueled and in good shape, when you fill it up with nutritious food and not dope it up with sugar and fatty quick processed meals from the various take always and delivery joints. Your brain chemistry alone will ensure you feel stronger and more energized thanks to the endorphins that you have also fed your brain with exercise.
For me, running is nature’s anti-depressant. The hardest part is putting on the shoes, is putting aside that hour for myself where the mobile is switched off and I am non-contactable as I move every limb and fill my lungs with air. In that hour, I reflect, breathing becomes rhythmic and somehow the world sits easier on its axis.
So take a moment, take a few moments, each day. Start today as the first day of this last month. Breathe and contemplate. And whether its yoga, a regular walk, a run or a swim, think of what you can do with your body that will fuel your mind.
Here’s to a healthy 2019.
