no. 70 - The Self-Care Episode

This Unmillennial Life

I’ll admit that when today’s guest originally pitched me the notion of doing an episode on “self-care” I had a twinge of cynicism that made me second guess the idea. Historically, especially when I had younger children, I viewed self-care (and frankly the people who promoted it) as a concept reserved for only those who had more time on their hands than I did.

But after speaking with today’s guest and after considering the journey I’ve been on this year to deepen my understanding of my internal dialog (be sure to check out The Enneagram Episode for more on that), I’ve come to realize that the times when I think I have no time for myself are likely the times when I need self-care the most.

Joining me today is Julie Jones — a certified personal trainer, a certified yoga instructor, a corporate wellness manager, and a longtime friend. Through Julie’s work training and coaching clients in the wellness space, she’s come to appreciate fully the importance of self-care and discusses the particulars in this episode, including:

• Why taking time to take care of yourself actually boosts your self-esteem and resiliency
• How self-care is not about being selfish and taking time away from family, but rather about identifying one’s needs in order to be fully healthy for those you love
• The importance of being able to say “No” and set boundaries to create a life grounded in what’s important to you and avoiding being over-extended
• Why self-care is more than cliched portrayals of “pedicures & pampering” and instead includes mindful choices in physical, mental, spiritual, emotional and social pursuits

To round out our discussion Julie offers a brief preview into the self-care retreats she hosts — why she started organizing these trips, who the ideal attendee is and what location they are headed to next.

I end today’s episode with a preview about an episode that’s yet to come — The Game of Thrones Episode. While I haven’t started production on it yet, I want to give listeners who haven’t watched the wildly popular series a chance to get in on the binge with me. I recently watched all 8 seasons in 3 weeks — to say I’m a huge fan is an understatement, obviously. But it wasn’t always that way. For years, I fought the notion that I would enjoy the fantasy-based power plays of the imaginary world of Westeros… until I heeded the advice of my stylist who encouraged me to give it at least 7 episodes. I did and from there, I was hooked. I’m now on my second watching of the entire season AND I’m reading the books. Setting aside the explicit and mature content as something that did leave me at the time a little ill at ease, Game of Thrones will go down as one of my all-time favorite binges, if not my absolute favorite. The upcoming episode will be produced from the standpoint of discussing the show in full. So now is the time to get caught up on watching it if you never have. Don’t let the talk of dragons fool you. This show is so much more — from complex character development to intricate plot entanglement, it’s a brilliant chronicle of the very real struggle between good and evil and perhaps most specifically, the blurred lines between both.

Thanks for spending this time with me this week. See you next episode. Take care,

Regan