As I am writing this I am listening to the rain falling heavily on my skylights, the morning sky is still dark.  I have walked away from the television covering the devastation from Hurricane Katrina.  It is hard to imagine what people are encountering as they try to recover from this natural disaster.  You may be asking how this ties into Real Estate.  Well, I will tell you clearly how it does…

Just last week I brought up a topic to my networking group, the topic was self care.  I was experiencing a lack of excitement in my life, feeling pulled in many directions and trying desperately to keep up.  I found myself to be confused by this as this was no longer something that I experienced in my life, and yet, here I was in an all too old familiar place.  As I thought about this I realized that I had not been taking good care of myself. 

My typical day starts with breathing exercises and meditation along with journaling.  I also do some type of cardio 4-5 times per week and weight training twice a week.  For the past several weeks my mornings consisted of very, very little of those things.  I found myself jumping out of bed and getting right into my day – feeding the dogs, showering, and right to work.  Now it has taken a while for the effects of my lack of self care to really show up but indeed they have.

Here is a something that is true for me and the majority of my clients – when we don’t take some time to really care for ourselves, we become at the affect of whatever is going on in our world.   We worry more about things we have no control over, such as natural disasters, our families, and our work.  We tend to be more edgy.  We are inclined to eat differently, craving sweets or more carbohydrates than our body needs.  It is as if we turn our backs on ourselves.  So here is the big question:  Why do we choose to not do things that feel good and benefit us?  Why are the activities that support us as individuals seem to be the first thing to go when we get busy?

Based upon the conversation with my networking group, which is all women, each and everyone there had the same experience from time to time.  I am guessing that some of you do too.

Real Estate is a tremendous industry, full of big activity, big money and big stress.  How are you finding time to take care of yourself?

A few years ago, one of my sons had Hodgkins Disease and every Tuesday I would accompany him to his chemo treatments.   The room was one big space so there were many others receiving their chemo as well.  One particular Tuesday I overheard a nurse telling a patient that he was in a situation where he required hospitalization.  The gentlemen refused stating in no uncertain terms that he could not as he had a closing the following day.  Eek!  This man was a Realtor, a sick one.  The nurse did not seem to know how to handle this and promptly went to get his doctor.  In all the time I was there, never did I see a doctor back in the chemo room.  The doctor made his way back to talk to this gentleman and stood waiting for 3-4 minutes as this Realtor continued to talk on his cell phone.  When he finally got off of the phone, the doctor laid it out in clear language.  He absolutely needed to be in the hospital – NOW!  I do not know how this turned out, if the Realtor chose his health or his closing, but it was an incredible lesson for me. 

So, what about you?  Are you investing in yourself?  Are you taking time for the things that feed you emotionally and spiritually?  Are you taking care of your physical body?  These things are very individual so I do not plan on telling you how to do this – however I am telling you that you must do something for you.

When you do, you will find that you are more at peace with the world.  You will not be at “the affect of” what is going on around you.  You will not take the problems that occur on deals personally.  When you feel better, you respond, not react to situations.

So………..what about YOU??????