Do You Have a Self-Care Squad? And Teleseminar Info

This article is a guest post from Jeannie Spiro, Lifestyle Expert and Coach. I wanted to give you a "taste" of Jeannie because she will be my guest on the upcoming Kitchen Table Parents teleseminar, "7 Essential Steps to Achieve a Stress-Less and Slim Fabulous Lifestyle" on July 12, 2011 at 8pm Eastern. To learn more about this event, click here. If you can't join us live, feel free to leave your questions in the comments below this post.
While my own work does not directly address women's weight loss issues, I clearly see the links among stress, overwhelm, and health. I also see many parents who neglect their own self-care while caught up in the busyness of raising their families. I look forward to sharing ideas with Jeannie on this important topic during our teleseminar. Hope you can join us!

Do You Have a Self-Care Squad?

By Jeannie Spiro

Do you remember when you first learned to ride a bike? You probably didn’t just hop on and start riding it right? It took practice and dedication but once you found your rhythm it just got easier didn’t it? It’s the same thing with self-care. If you haven’t been doing it very well for a while you build on the basics until you’re peddling at a pace that’s right and works for you.

As I see it there are a few reasons why self-care doesn’t happen. You find excuses not to make time for it, you don’t want to change your patterns/habits and or you just can’t put yourself first. But let’s pretend that your only job was to take care of yourself and that nothing else mattered. Could you do it? Would you do it? Could you put everything else aside and clear your path so that you could start improving how you look and feel? Could you dig deep within and find the motivation to get out of the space you’re currently in and envision a place you’d like to be instead? Did you know that you’ll have greater success when you surround yourself with individuals who want to see you succeed? It’s like your own Cheerleading Squad. These individuals will pump you up when you need support and encourage you on your journey. When you don’t know if you can fully commit to making the changes you know you need to make go out and find a team that can support you.

I can’t help to think of a close friend of mine who lost half her body weight in just over a year. She went from 350 pounds to 175 pounds. Our daughters played on the same soccer team and I’ll never forget the first time she exercised during her first week of her new journey. My friend asked me to walk with her during the girl’s practice. It was clear that every step was a struggle for her. But I couldn’t help to feel pride for two reasons, to be asked to be part of her journey and to see someone pull strength from within to want to turn her life around. I knew that she needed encouragement and support and I knew that she was willing herself to get through that workout. I was filled with pride to be there from day one. Of course it wasn’t easy for her but day by day she built upon a foundation of her inner strength, and every day that she worked at taking better care of herself she became more confident that she could keep going and more confident in her looks and body. It was incredible to be part of her transformation and to support her as she turned over a whole new leaf. Do you know what she says motivated her to keep going every day? The support system she created around herself that would allow her to propel forward even when she didn’t feel like she could. She openly shared her doubts and fears with people she knew would support and encourage her. She allowed these individuals to become the voices of motivation within her head, and when she became strong and confident enough she replaced their voices with her own. She learned who to listen to, who to emulate and who to recruit as teammates of her Self-Care Squad. Do you have a team of people in your life that support you? Can you see the value in creating one?

This week’s assignment:

Look at the individuals in your life and look closely at them. Are they building you up or bringing you down? Are they encouraging you to become a healthier, more fit and confident person? Are they people you can call upon to help you with improving your self-care? You don’t have to replace those who aren’t you just need to listen more to those who are helping you on your journey to greater self-care. This week make a list of 5 people who you know are there for you and support you. Write down their names, telephone numbers and emails. Now contact the one who lives closest to you and make a date to exercise together. Put it on the calendar and rain or shine you go. If for some reason your friend can’t make it then you go anyway. Just start building on this. Little by little it will get easier and you’ll gain more confidence in yourself.

Have you got a Self-Care Squad in place? Has it helped when you’ve surrounded yourself with people who support what you're trying to do?


Jeannie Spiro teaches self-employed women and professionals how to overcome overwhelm and stress and achieve the figure they desire so they can be equally as proud and confident in how they look as the work they do. You can get her 3 part Live Smarter Lifestyle Kit at www.jeanniespiro.com.