6 Ways to Renew and Why You Need To

 

September 2020 Wellness Topic:  Renew

“We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves, otherwise we harden.”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Gœthe 

 

September may seem like the opposite of renewal, afterall September follows the summer, where typically we have renewed ourselves with vacations.  Or have we – in years past, haven’t you sometimes felt like you needed a vacation from your family vacation?

 

Why You Need to Renew

But this year more than ever, we need to seriously consider the matter of renewal in our lives.   We were already on pace with our lives for possible burnout.  I know I was burnout in the past, and I know how many continue to be so, or are on the brink.  The global pandemic created even more pressure in our lives.

Our mental health is eroding from the stress, and the worry.   We have sustained imbalance in our work and personal lives.  Our day-to-day energy gets zapped by the grind.  Worse, we may revert back to old mindsets and behaviors eroding progress we once made in our wellness.

We may be experiencing any of the following:

• Eroding health and wellbeing
• Disenchanted or disengaged
• Stuck, bored or hassled
• Exhausted living in an energy deficit

Even in challenge and suffering we are innately designed with the ability to heal, evolve and rejuvenate.

The Benefits of Renewal

By focusing on renewal we can adapt to our ever changing circumstances, and grow from our experiences, and cultivate wellness with greater ease rather than willpower.   If you don’t intentionally choose renewal, the body will choose the time for you.

Voluntary renewal is planned time you take to renewal for the purpose of keeping your at your best.   It prevents involuntary renewal where you become sick or run-down or your are simply too exhausted to be fully engaged.  In fact this is what top athletes do.  They know that training without rest only leads to an injury that could sideline them. Instead they are sure to build in recovery days to their training.  It is this recovery (or renewal) that keeps them in their peak performance.  And it’s the same with you.

 

How Do You  Renew?

Yes, it is been a rocky year.  And there is still uncertainty about the outlook ahead. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t commit to renewal right now.  In fact, its probably more critical now than ever.  Here are 6 tips to build renewal.

Actions to Help You Renew your Wellness

When it comes to renewal,  these strategies can help:

1. Practice Beginning Again

One of the reasons I think September always makes sense for renewal, is because there is a newness to air.  A new season is coming and the temperatures start to become more bearable, especially that crispness in the morning air. It’s the beginning of new school year and kids start a new grade.  New seasons kick-off.  So September is all about new beginnings, even this year.

Show up with a beginner’s mind. See this as a fresh start.  We can still have a fresh start with this season. See this as an opportunity to renew relationships, attitudes, and even our whole being.

 

2. Shake Up Your Routine

Habit stacking is building a new habit on top of other.  You create bigger and longer lasting change by building one habit on top of the other. Since routines naturally change in September with the kids back to a school routine, be it online or in person, you have an opportunity to use the new routines to your advantage.  You can intentionally build in that voluntary renewal into your schedule.  You don’t need huge amounts of time.  Even a few minutes of some time for you each day can help.

 

3. Have Fun

Maybe as part of that time for yourself, give yourself permission to stop being so serious for a moment.   Lightness of spirit is refreshing to body and mind.  Invite your family or coworkers to join in the fun.  Create more joy by:

• Setting an intention to commit to more joy
• Recall a moment of joy each day, and relive these happy moments
• Relish in someone else’s good news
• Delight in a child or pet at play
• Witnessing joy is beneficial and contagious!
• Redesign your work from home space (or office) with something that brings you joy.
• Spread joy – send a note to a few loved ones just to say something positive.

 

4. Take It Outdoors

The newness of September also speaks to our cyclical nature.   Whether its seasons, school years, circadian rhytms or hormones, we live in the midst of cycles.  Natural light is one of the most synchronizing agents for the brain and body, improving mood, your sleep-wake cycle, hormone release and work performance.

 

5. Share your Concerns

In my How to Thrive During COVID-19 Program, I shared 5 tips for thriving in a crisis.  And one of them is to never go it alone, and not to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders.  The old saying is a burden shared is a burden halved.  Reach out to people you trust – a friend, peer, mentor or coach who listen to your completely and even provide perspective on your problems without attempting to fix them.  A coach is specifically trained to listen and help you see a new perspective.  Coaching is not about fixing your problems for you, but rather helping you to resolve them yourself.  The intimate bonds created by sharing vulnerabilities can bring you a sense of relief and rejuvenation.

 

6. Fuel your Renewal

Physical, Mental, Emotional and spiritual energy all need to be renewed.  They are all critical and interconnected.   Focusing on positive emotions, and reconnecting to passion and purpose can help up us renewal.  In addition, how eat, move, sleep and rest, use water and breathe can either nurture vitality or erode it.  Create energy or create exhaustion.  Take an honest look at your wellness behaviors and honestly ask yourself:

“what shifts in life and would can make each day more renewing?”

This month, I am launching a new program “The Exhaustion Fix”.  To learn more, click here.

Note: Global Wellness: I am an ambassador of the Global Wellness Institute and a proud supporter of their Wellness Moonshot Initiative.  The initiative is a global commitment to eradicate preventable, chronic disease. Each month explores a different wellness topic with information and resources to create wellness. This post is inspired from their September Wellness Moonshot.