Achievers and self-care

May 27, 2011 I went to a friend's graduation. The theme of the speeches given revolved around self-care and taking time  out to relax occasionally. It is frequently an issue with high achievers to neglect themselves to there own detriment. They might get away with it for a season, but eventually catches up with them. They start getting sick both physically and mentally, it takes longer to recover and many times they still keep pushing with out taking a breather. Also, if you don't practice good self-care, you can end up depleted of resources and unable to be as effective at doing what ever it is you're trying to do.

Be sure to eat healthily, use all-nighters sparingly, try to get 10-15 minutes of me time a day, and get what ever exercise you can squeeze in to your schedule. Make sure you learn some adaptive stress management strategies, don't ignore signals your body may be giving you such as hunger, difficulty getting to sleep or waking up, thirst, and so forth. Consider getting a life coach or an ADHD coach to help you manage your time and your life a little more easily. Be sure to squeeze a little bit of time with your friends if possible. Learn when to get help or support in areas of difficulty or lesser interest. Learn what your strengths and talents are so that you can capitalize on them and free up time and energy for other things.

I have collapsed several times with pneumonia, ear infections, depression and found myself depleted on several occasions before I learned this lesson. I now make a point to take better care of myself, treat myself in a loving way, to get out with friends or at least talk to someone on facebook in a pinch, and make sure I give my body what it needs. I try to get enough sleep as often as I can, I make sure I don't let my hunger turn into low blood sugar (most of the time), drink plenty of water, and so forth.

I find these things more or less help me to more focused, more involved with my friends and family, help my mood, my asthma, my immune system, and my overall health. I have looked at making the most of what I have and making the best contribution I can to my community as I can.

Do you have any suggestions or ideas about how high achievers can take time to take care of themselves? And I don't just mean people, who are academically high achievers. I am also talking about people, who are high achievers in work and/or helping to make this world a better place.