Episode 13: Breaking Out of Your Rut

Episode 13 is all about self-care and how to find more happiness in life. Listeners are encouraged to break out of ruts and routines to find more meaning and satisfaction in life.

Alexa and Hannah talk about self-care. 

Before discussing self-care, they follow up on feedback they've received from previous episodes. Listeners are thanked for providing feedback and are encouraged to communicate their continued feedback with the show--good and bad.

Hannah introduces the Wheel of Abundance exercise, a tool she often uses. She notes that many different coaches and books use a similar tool, and she explains that she's categorized the tool in a new way with different spokes and labels.

Hannah describes the Wheel of Abundance/ Life Assessment Tool, and suggests that it's one good tool for assessing happiness in life.

She suggests that listeners rate their lives on a scale of 1-10 in the following areas:

1) Friendship: Community, Connection, Relationships

2) Family: Family Relationships, Community, Connection

3) Marriage: Partnership, Romantic Relationship, Primary Relationship

4) Intimacy: Sexual Health, Touch, Affection, Connection, Vulnerability

5) Spirituality: Faith, Connection to Source, Meaning, Purpose

6) Stuff: Physical environment, House, Car, Clothes, Shoes, Things

7) Job: Career, Profession, Fulfillment

8) Finances: Earnings, Savings, Investments, Retirement, Savings

9) Adventure: Fun, Play, Travel, Creativity

10) Giving Back: Being of service, Contributing, Volunteering, Giving

11) Learning and Personal Development: Reading, Therapy, Coaching, Classes, Languages, New learning

12) Heath: Physical health, Mental health, Dental health, Body awareness and acceptance

13) Relationship with Self: Ability to enjoy being alone

14) Wellness: Happiness, Wellbeing, Satisfaction

Hannah suggests drawing a circle and segmenting the circle into 14 "slices", labeling each slice with one of the 14 above-listed categories, and then charting the corresponding level of satisfaction, noting levels of satisfaction in each slice.

Alexa points out that it's important to look at our values and see how our values align with these categories. Hannah suggests listing personal values in the middle of the pie as described above.

Hannah shares a tool she learned in a coaching program where she was encouraged to track her time. She shares the experience and encourages others to track time, by noting which activities you are engaged in, in 15 minute intervals throughout the day.

Hannah and Alexa debate iPhone's new time-tracking feature. They discuss how time spent on their phones and on social media has both positive and negative implications.

Hannah shares a game she plays each day: Instagram Roulette, where she logs onto Instagram and finds the first positive post she sees, using that message as an inspiration for the day. She plays the game live on the show and shares the post she finds, which reads, "We are not in debt to the people who choose to love us" from @fierceselfcompassion. 

Hannah and Alexa share information about giving and unspoken expectations. They talk about scorekeeping, expectations, selfishness, and traps many couples fall into. 

They then define and describe self-care: "the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one's own health, how well are you taking care of yourself."

Hannah shares her analogy of comparing self-care to car care and maintenance. She explains that it's not the job of other people to take care of us. As she says, "it is all of our jobs and responsibilities to take care of our selves and our happiness and our lives."

Hannah shares her number one suggestion for improving happiness: identifying gratitude. She shares a tool for finding gratitude.

The two also suggest other tips that might be used to start this process: auditing a diet and exercise routine, limiting sugar and caffeine, incorporating more movement, eating more greens and vegetables and nutrients by including green juice, drinking more water, limiting alcohol, addressing sleep issues, incorporating meditation, using yoga, saying no, setting boundaries, auditing commitments, quitting mindless activities like watching tv during other activities, evaluating how you spend your time, delegating activities like cleaning, laundry and trash, asking for your help, finding a sacred time ritual or morning routine, incorporating gratitude, using affirmations, and prioritizing self-care.

Hannah also discusses the importance of a heathy morning routine. She shares about her personal morning routine. 

Hannah and Alexa remind listeners that life is short, and that it's important to find happiness and satisfaction in life, and that self-care is a tool to accomplish this.

Resources:

Quote of the Day Podcast:

http://seancroxton.com/quoteoftheday/

Morning Routine:

Great book by Hal Elrod: The Miracle Morning:

https://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Morning-Not-So-Obvious-Guaranteed-Transform-ebook/dp/B00AKKS278/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=morning+routine&qid=1551072023&s=gateway&sr=8-2

Hannah and Alexa are therapists and coaches. You can find them at Omaha Psychotherapy. Both are accepting new clients. Contact them today for help with this stuff!

omahapsychotherapy.com

(402) 715-9710

[email protected]