3 Encouragements to Help You Flow Into Fall

I hope that you’ll find these encouragements helpful. Become inspired to implement them into your life right now, starting this fall, starting today.

I shared these three tips at the end of an interview on the “Results Without Restriction Podcast” with Laurie Mallon. The episode title is: “Using a Holistic Approach to Connect Body, Mind, Heart and Soul.

Click that link to listen. And make sure you come back here to finish reading because I expanded on my tips in this post.

1. Slow down this fall.

You probably hear that a lot, and I know it isn’t easy, but if you experience any of these:

• stress
• overwhelm
• forgetfulness
• brain fog
• digestive issues
• constant fatigue

…..you’re likely too much in a hurry, as most of us are.

How can you slow down?

First, get in touch with your values.

Get your priorities straight so that you’re saying ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to the right things.

Take a few minutes to consider what’s important to you right now in this season of your life. What goals do you have? Life goals, daily goals….how do you want to live, feel and be right now?

And how can you put these on a radar? How can you help yourself keep your values front of mind?

Maybe you need to write them down. You could discuss them with your spouse or share them with a friend who will hold you accountable.

This should be freeing for you, not seem like a chore.

Being clear about and sticking to your values and goals will help you make good decisions and establish effective boundaries for yourself and for others involved with you.

Next, consider all of the activities, work, conversations and relationships that you participate in on a daily basis.

What lights you up; and what drains you?

What is aligned with your values and goals; and what isn’t?

Make a T-chart and list these out. Or check out my life assessment and goal setting worksheet.

What can you let go of? What do you want, or feel like you need to release and cross off that list?

Letting go of what isn’t serving you can open up opportunities to slow down. You’ll be better able to rest and restore. Then, you can jump fresh into what you truly want to spend your valuable time doing. And the less you have to do or fret about the more you can slow down.

Tips for sowing down when you’re with others:

• Hold kisses with your partner a little longer.
• Look at each other when you say “Bye” or “I love you” instead of rushing out the door.
• Get down eye-to-eye while your child talks. If they start rambling, relax and stare at their face as if you want to remember how it looks right now for the rest of your life. I want my son to feel heard and understood. And when he wants to talk about life, his feelings, or an experience, I give him my full attention. But when it comes to lengthy recounts about his latest Roblox adventure, to avoid going cross-eyed, I simply stare at his face and think in my mind, “I love you, I love you…”. I don’t feel pressured to hang on his every word. Thankfully, there is never a quiz!
• Stay in step with your kids. I wanted my son to ride his skateboard or bike to keep up when we needed to walk anywhere. But slowing down and walking with him gives us opportunities to connect with each other and the world around us. He’s good at noticing the bugs and butterflies that I miss. And he’s always on the lookout for hibiscus, my favorite flower. My heart swoons….

More tips for slowing down this fall:

• Put thought into planning your day. Consider how your energy rises and fades throughout your day as you determine what and when you will do things. If you have little ones, consider the same for them. And allow down-time. Everyone needs a little!
• Keep both a ‘must-do’ and a ‘maybe-get-to’ list. Keep that must-do list to 3-5 tasks per day only. The other list gets pulled out only if you have and want to devote time and energy for more.
• Plan your meals. Help out your digestive system and ease your weeknight rushed mind with some planned meals. There are different methods of planning meals. You could simply as hang a few recipes on a fridge magnet. Or you could get extravagant with producing a weekly ‘three-meal-a-day-plus-a-snack’ schedule with a mapped out shopping list. I love meal planning and piecing together a week of fresh cooked meals and getting creative with leftovers. There are online programs to help with meal planning and delivery services if that’s what you need to slow down. My RENEW mini-course includes a Food-Mood Recipe Guide I think you’ll love.
• Chew your food slowly. Let your digestive system wake up and have a chance to work more effectively.
• Stop at a window and look out for just five seconds. You can spare five seconds to look out and find something interesting, beautiful, bold, surprising, or funny.
• Before you put the car in drive, smile or make a face in the rear view mirror. This could be a funny face at the adorable kid in the back seat, or it could be for you. Other options: squeeze your partner’s hand, or take a deep breath and say something nice to yourself.

If you want to reduce stress, forgetfulness and brain fog; stop feeling overwhelmed and drained; and possibly ease some digestive issues, SLOW DOWN this fall.

Give yourself the gifts of vibrancy, enthusiasm, physical energy, brain power, and efficient digestion.

Get your values and priorities in order, say yes and no accordingly, and let go of what isn’t serving you. Then commit to practicing 1-3 of my ideas to really help you be intentional about slowing down.

You might long to make a big change in your life. (I could help you with that.) But even brief pauses throughout the day can help so much, so sneak them in as often as possible.

2. Get to know yourself and your body this fall.

What’s in your life that’s good for you right now and what isn’t?

What beams you up, and what depletes you?

Do you know your strengths and what things are just not for you?

What time of day do you feel most energized and productive, and when do you need some down-time?

How nutritious, filling and delicious are the foods you normally eat?

What constant symptoms, or little annoying flare ups, do you have that you haven’t figured out or asked a doctor about?

What’s bugging you and making you irritable?

What triggers episodes of anxiety, depression, or mental fatigue for you?

What happens in your body when those episodes occur?

How peaceful, joyful, and satisfying are your different relationships?

Is the time you spend working fulfilling? What about things you volunteer to help with?

How do you feel about the different roles you play in your life right now?

If you’re struggling with something, commit to really paying attention to it and tracking it for a while.

Try to figure out where the problem is stemming from. Just pick one thing to focus on. Try to get to the bottom of it and see how to resolve it.

If you’re having digestive issues, start a food & mood log for a while. Or at the very least, do a gentle cleanse for a few days. Just cut out one food or beverage you think might be triggering you and see if it makes a difference.

Are you and your partner are arguing more? Think about what might be bringing you down that doesn’t have anything to do with him.

I get snippity when I haven’t eaten sufficiently, when I get overstimulated, or when I get interrupted trying to do focused work, like writing blog posts. So….I need to be responsible and intentional about eating regular meals. I need to steal away when I feel overwhelmed and need quiet time alone. It’s important to let my family know I want some time to write uninterrupted.

Here is one more important thing to consider:

How does your body react to stress and respond to your attempts to alleviate it? Do you go into overdrive, or go-go-go and crash, or want to close up and detach from the world?

You can find lists of ways to relieve stress, but what has or hasn’t worked for you?

Some people need high activity to really burn off steam. Others need regular gentle yoga sessions in their life. Some people need to talk it out; some people need more quiet alone time….

Do you know what works for YOU?

I love assessments like the Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, and Four Tendencies. Learning about Ayurveda Doshas and body types has been especially helpful personally and working with clients. I also offer a few of my own assessments and tracking tools to my clients.

But your best assessment comes from paying attention to your life.

Pay attention to how you feel in the morning physically and emotionally and how you change throughout the day. How does your energy shift during different activities or around different people or groups, etc.

Again, focus on one thing that you want to know or keep asking yourself….

• Why do I do that?
• Why does that happen?
• Why am I always _____ (tense when my mom calls, yelling at my kids in the morning, bloated at bedtime, waking up at 3 am)???

Getting to know yourself will help you find the right remedies for YOU. There are tons of self-care ideas out there. You’ll find loads of tips for easing anxiety, rising up from depression, managing stress, getting along better with your partner, etc. We get upset when we try a few things that don’t work. Sometimes we even blame ourselves. But some things will work for you, I promise!

It’s not always the first few tips, or the most popular tips you hear about. If you really know yourself you’ll be able to weed out a lot of the hoopla for you. You’ll find things more specific to your personality, your body type, your lifestyle.

3. Find your path. Find your way.

Decide the best eating style for you. Discover the best career and hobbies for you. Determine the best time of day for you to be productive. Find a way to get the rest you need when you need it.

And believe in your worth to do all of those things.

Grab my Holistic Wellness Inventory and Goal Setting Worksheet to help you get started!

Or, if you really want to feel refreshed, sign up for my mini-course RENEW. It will help you Restore, Energize, Nourish, Empower and Win back…YOU! It’s only $15 right now.

Thanks for reading. I hope you’ll share this post with someone you think might need to read or hear it as well.