Our minds are constantly filled with so many thoughts. It’s impossible to count the number of thoughts we have each day. Our minds are just as active as our lives so, just thinking about how many thoughts runs through one’s mind is enough to stress you out just thinking about it. When our mindset is overfilled with clutter, we hold onto thoughts, beliefs and images, all the things that we need to let go of. 

When you are conscious about what you put into your mind, your clarity will seem like magic.  A clear mind breathes in clarity, positive focus and releases you to manage stress better. For a long time, I thought that selfcare was only about grooming, just taking care of my outer appearance. I had no idea that I was flying fast on my way to burnout.

That was until seven years ago when I found myself so busy doing many things at one time, and nothing was getting sufficient time to accomplish the tasks. I became physically ill and mentally drained. I thought that occasionally going to the beach or dining out at my favorite restaurants, and scattered vacations was self-care. 

                                                   The Confinement Cell of busyness

  Well, what happens when busyness is not working for you? You’re now awakened within, that you’ve never really felt replenished from the inside out. Your excessive busyness is not adding nourishment to your mind, body, and your soul. Excessive busyness confines our minds and life to many traps that locks not only the minds but our overall health and well-begin as well. 

                                                                   HOW I BURNED OUT 

So, here’s how I opened the confinement cell of burnout. I literally pulled the plug on my energy, because what I thought was self-care was a false illusion of productiveness enclosed within over-kill called busyness.  This decreased my creativity and problem-solving skills. For years I worked in the Hospital full time as a proud Patient Care Technician, managing the unique needs of my son that’s living with Autism, marriage, parenting my two other children, running my 501 c (3) Non-profit, writing books and mentoring other women. I thought I was balancing it all, but it was quite the opposite. 

All of my time, hours, mindset and my life were automated and mechanical. I became completely detached from my purpose, and disengaged from actively implementing self-care strategies as vital and not secondary. A mind that’s confined to burnout, is in a constant state of unrest. 

                 When you’re burned out, you may feel some sort of way but you may not immediately be aware that you’re on the path of burn out. 

 Close to winter time in 2015, I began to feel and believe that burnout was a normal way of life, the only way of life. I didn’t know that I had develop a mindset that no longer believed in myself, my dreams and my goals. I was losing myself and it felt as if nothing was going to become better. Lack of self-awareness and no self-care routine, had radical consequences in my life. Through all of this is where I discovered just how important a lifestyle of self-care is. The confinement cell of burnout, mentally, physically and emotionally disconnects us from our authentic selves. 

                Four practical life tools to implement before and when burnout seems inevitable.

 1. As you enjoy your family, relationships, and careers, make sure your alone time and your basic needs are met. What can you remove to regain personal time to relax and recharge? 

 2. Intentionally do things that fills your cup up positively. Get comfortable with what I call; ‘The Flip”.   It’s wholesome to switch up, change up your daily routine to avoid becoming bored. This is a personal step that’s not a one size fit all strategy. It involves you becoming more aware, being fully in tuned with your thoughts, energy level and mood changes. 

 3. Health is QUEEN!  A healthy body paves the way, making a healthy mindset possible.  Be deliberate in preparing your meals. A balanced diet supply’s you with necessary energy boosts, that you need for a healthy lifestyle.  Why choose to live unhealthy within an unhealthy world when you can choose to commit to preparing healthier meals more than you are eating out. There are so many resources where you can learn how to change the way you cook your meals. You can start with your physician, a nutritionist and invest in cook books that shows you the preparation steps, items needed and the calories.

Regular physical activity can improve your muscle strength and boost your endurance.  This takes a growth mindset. A growth mindset mentally prepares you for exercise, positions you toward goal setting and achievement. This step includes you actually getting up in your mindset first, so that you can consistently get off your buns and move your body. Set manageable goals, you will be surprised at what 10 minutes can do. As you focus on the four tools listed, remember the confinements of burnout that negatively affects your mind, body, and your soul. Refrain from the urge of taking on too much all at once. 

·       The choice is yours. Preventive actions daily, (Self-Care), is less costly than the process of repair within ourselves after the burnout.                                     

               I Am Angelina Squire, The Mental Hell Cell Breaker; here to help you get out your head and into your life, so you stress less and focus on what matters the most.