So I got sick with a cold this week, and here’s what I learned.
- CHECK IN with my mental and physical state
- I have all the love and support I need
- Sometimes rest is best
First of all I don’t always base my decisions on reality. I spent two days going “Ok just a runny nose, no need to panic or change your schedule in any way, proceed as planned”. Then on day three, after a less than great night of sleep, I realized that I did in fact have a cold, and I cancelled all my appointments. This meant calling/ emailing/ texting 9 ladies who were planing on coming to classes, or getting a massage. One of my biggest fears is that my clients view me as flaky or unreliable. The first client answered the phone with “well this is a rare occurrence” oh thank god. After checking in with everyone (several of my ladies offered to bring me soup – they are so good to me!) I thought I was in the clear. Then around 10:15 I heard a knock on my door. Uh oh one of my ladies didn’t get the memo. She was totally understanding and we talked about the colds/ flus going around.
I also tend to ignore symptoms that I may be feeling a little run down. I blame my mother for this. We used to joke that you had to be bleeding from the head before she took you to the hospital. When I was in middle school we went to the science museum. I reached in the back of the station wagon just as she was lowering the door (and just after she shouted “hands clear!”) and the metal piece in the center of the door popped me right on top of my noggin. I looked like an extra from a horror move with the blood running down my face. I was actually bleeding from the head and we were ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE HOSPITAL and Claire just shrugged, grabbed a towel, and held it on my head til it stopped. Then she got out the peanut butter sandwiches and we all had lunch. End of story. Now this was in the 80’s when seat belts were a suggestion, smoking was allowed in restaurants, and we mostly played out doors, where my favorite activity was climbing trees. To be clear, I tell this story to illustrate our family’s “suck it up” attitude towards illness/ injury. My mother was in no way neglectful. Hi mom 🙂
As I pondered the question of “why is it so hard for me to cancel appointments” I realized that after suffering severe physical pain from both Endometriosis and various back issues over the past 20 years, I had gotten into the mindset of saving up my sick days for when I literally could not get out of bed. A little sniffle, or sore throat? Gargle and get out there girl! No matter that I may be exposing my clients to germs, or missing out on some much needed rest. “But you will disappoint people” says the monkey in my brain. Yep maybe you will. Or maybe they will say “hey look at Anne doing a good job taking care of herself”. So I rested for two days, my symptoms abated, and I was able to get back to work.
One of the first questions I ask my clients when they walk in the door is “how is your physical state/ mental state?” This helps me to decide where to take our program that day to best meet their needs. This year, to keep everybody healthy and happy, I will do better job of asking myself these questions, then responding in a way that is loving and supportive to Anne.
How about you?
- How you doing with self care?
- What about asking for help?
- How does it feel to be vulnerable (yikes!)?
- Do you have a monkey that lives in your brain?
- What are his or her favorite stories?
- Are these stories working for you?
Shoot me an email with your best self care strategies. I am here to support you, let me know if you’d like help treating yourself like the star that you are.
Anne McCranie is a Portland, Oregon based personal trainer and licensed massage therapist. She loves helping her clients tame their inner monkeys!