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Every Little Thing by April Jeppson

I attended the best conference last week. I love learning and being inspired so I don’t know if there’s a conference/training that I haven’t enjoyed. Being surrounded by like-minded people who have similar interests and goals… partaking in yummy food that I can’t access locally… win/win.

I was in Charlotte, North Carolina. I’ve been to the state a few times, but always on the coast. Having family in Virginia, we’d take trips down to Nags Head and Ocracoke. So instead of seeing where flight originated, I got to see the beautiful high-rise buildings of downtown Charlotte. I appreciate beautiful architecture and skylines and let me tell you, I was impressed.

Aside from the visual beauty of the trip, there was a lot of education and valuable insights that I received. We were fortunate enough to have Nataly Kogen speak to us one morning. “In her book, ‘Happier Now,’ Nataly shares her lifelong struggle of searching for the elusive ‘big happy’ and how she finally made the essential mindset shifts that allowed her to live with more self-compassion, joy and meaning.” That blurb came right off of her website and encapsulates her ideas much better than I can.

One of the biggest takeaways from her presentation was the importance of self care. I think the entire concept of self care has gotten a bad rap lately. Either it’s way over the top like champagne baths and expensive pampering or it’s unnecessary and people should just toughen up. She started by asking us all a simple question.

If your car ran out of gas, would you put more gas in it?

We hesitated at how simple the question was. Of course we would, it needs it. She then went on to explain how we wouldn’t tell our car it didn’t deserve gas. Or that it hadn’t done enough work to earn more gas. We all giggled at the thought of scolding our car. She then replied, then why, when we are tired, and running on empty, do we not refill ourselves with what we need to “run.”

I believe in taking care of ourselves. I know that if I’m not operating at 100%, that my family and my work suffers. I feel zero guilt about taking a few days off occasionally and filling my cup when necessary. However, this was an “Aha” moment for me.

Although I’m good about scheduling larger breaks for myself, what small things am I doing daily?

Not much.

Something as simple as going outside for a 10- to 15-minute walk, would make a huge positive impact on my day. Adding in a few pages of reading, or a few minutes of my favorite music. Easy to do, but also easy not to do. Instead of waiting a few months until I absolutely have to get away, I need to refill my tank daily. I need to recognize that just like a car, I do not need to earn a break. I require it. We all do.

Albert Lean April Jeppson is a wife, mom, coach and encourager of dreams. Her column appears every Saturday.