DAYS 19, 20, 21 & 22 March 18-21, 2018, A month of working on my wellness.

jodimullen2013 ♦ March 22, 2018 ♦ Leave a comment

Can commitment be a bad thing?

My goodness I have not updated you in a while. It’s not because I quit on you guys (or myself) I just got really bogged down. Jack Canfield creator of the Success Principles says “Over commit, under achieve.” He’s on to something for sure! Overcommitting myself is probably related to my poor sleep hygiene, and most of the other wellness challenges I face. My sleep schedule has been terrible over the last few days and it’s not going to improve in the near future.

Here’s what wellness challenges I notice when I get over-loaded:

1. My sleep goes from being awful to sucking. I have not had a night over 5 hours in several days. Dr. Gottfried says that will get in my way of focusing, choosing healthy food for nourishment, and losing (or even maintaining weight), for starters.
2. I am on edge emotionally (also connected to being sleep deprived).
3. Caffeine is back into my diet.
4. I am hungry.
5. My meditation routine is totally off (I haven’t meditated in days).
6. Sleeping even an extra few minutes seemed like a better idea then working out then I get get mad at myself (and random other people) for skipping a workout.
7. Sugar cravings, particularly chocolate have reemerged. I had some vegan ice cream yesterday and today.
8. For whatever reason, I haven’t had enough water.
9. Twice today, I said yes when I should have and wanted to say “No.”

This is what I notice. I cannot imagine what is going on inside and what the cumulative effects on my health are. It is also interesting to me that most of the consequences of overcommitting are also consequences of sleep deprivation. Vicious. Sleep is the key. I need to plan out my sleep with the same vigor I plan out my workouts, my work, even my meditation gets a slot on my calendar sometimes.

My commitment to sleep is my commitment to wellness.

It’s already after 10:30pm and I am clearly not off the screen. It would be beyond challenging to me to get this going tonight because after finishing this I have to do a few other things that HAVE to be done for tomorrow. I am also headed out of town for a conference for a few days. Hotel sleeping when sharing a room with some friend-colleagues is not really an ideal situation for me to put my plan into practice. Best start day for me is Sunday. Anyone else want to give it a try? Starting on Sunday will give me three days before I go on vacation to begin my journey to better sleep. I know that’s not a lot of time, but really I need to get started!

I have learned a lot about sleep hygiene in battling with my own insomnia, helping my clients with their insomnia and other sleep disturbances, and in the recent reading that I have done about overall health and wellness. I am a chronic hypocrite when it comes to sleep hygiene and do not even remotely practice what I preach. One thing that writing this blog has really illuminated for me, is that sleep is what stands in the way of me achieving my wellness goals. I can no longer be a hypocrite. Plus, I just shared that with you all and now I have a bunch of accountability partners (thank you!).

Another plan

As I get started on what my plan is; I recognize it will look simple. I also recognize it will in NO WAY be easy.

Step away from the screen by 9:30pm.

Get ready for bed at 10:00pm. Have a cup of tea (decaf, of course), wash face, brush and floss teeth, read for 10-20 minutes.

Get in bed 10:30pm. Lights off, done for the night. *If after an hour I am struggling to sleep take a dose of magnesium and a dose of L-tryptophan.

I’ll let you know how it goes! Wish me luck!

With Love & Gratitude~

Jodi