Summer Kick-Off: Honoring Our Heroes, Planning Your Season, and Embracing Self-Care!
Hey Summer Lovin’ Folks!☀️
Welcome to the unofficial kick-off of summer! 🌞🚣♀️🏖️🍉🏕️😎
Memorial Day honors America's military men and women who lost their lives in service to their country. I’d like to thank the brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice and recognize their families who have endured grief and acceptance over the years.
This American tradition to honor those who have fallen is a somber reminder of the actual cost of war, a human life. I’m grateful for the privileges I enjoy on a daily basis, and I’m saddened by the wars happening in the world, because the reality is, no one wins in war. I pray about this.
As we turn our attention to summer, I want to acknowledge the transition many are experiencing within their families. Some may be having kids home from school, others may soon be seeing kids off to college, or moving out of the nest, and some may be looking forward to an easier pace with their household and work, with vacations and memory making. There may be many who are somewhere in between with all these scenarios.
Wherever you may be, I encourage you to be intentional with your activities, thoughts, and behaviors so you can make the most of your time and energy. The benefits of doing so can carry over for the rest of the year.
Being intentional does require some planning, 📅 which can provide huge payoffs. Think about what you want and don’t want, leaving room for spontaneity.
Most of all, identify how you want to feel during this season, and use these emotions/feeling words as inspiration for your planning and activities.
Abandon the hope that good things will happen organically; planning ensures memorable experiences and time to enjoy the simple pleasures that summer may bring.
Here are some ways to be more intentional:
- Set measurable, realistic goals for the season.
- Establish a summer routine that will help you achieve these goals. This is not the time to give up on your habits and routines! Know your “non-negotiables,” and work them into your routine.
- Nurture your relationships. Meaningful engagement builds and sustains your mental health.
- Make deliberate spending choices; be aware of changes in your spending habits with your activities. Over-spending can contribute to the stress of the season.
- Be clear about where you want to spend your time, energy, and focus each day. Remember this is your summer!
- Front load time in the beginning of the week for the most important tasks.
- Slow down and rebalance yourself as you go, so you don’t become overwhelmed. Self-accountability is key to success.
For me, summer is the time I like to connect with nature which gives me a greater sense of well-being. Each season has its own beauty.
Now I know that summer weather can also be a turn-off with heat and humidity, 🥵 but I view it no different than the winter cold and snow, which can also be a challenge. Thank goodness for air conditioning, and warm fireplaces!
Eating al-fresco and looking at the night sky gives me a sense of freedom and the feeling that I’m on vacation. Can anybody else relate to this? I plan to go out early in the morning, or in the evening when things cool down to get my walks in.
I also use summer as a time of reflection and renewal. I tend to journal more intently and plan out the rest of my year. I read more books, try new things, and allow myself more ice cream. 🍦
What does summer do for you?
If you’re ready to have a summer of self-development, consider coaching sessions with me! If you’re in a life transition, ready to work on a mindset shift or habit development, or in need of help with a lifestyle decision or change, summer can be a great time for self-discovery that will set you up for the rest of the year and beyond.
Reach out or reply to this email, and let’s chat about developing a path forward for your fulfillment and success! There’s no commitment with chatting, and it can lead to further discovery of your needs.
MINDSET MATTERS From Judy
Summer of self-love… how does this resonate with you?
For many of us, self-love is an awkward thought and feeling, let alone hard to do. Loving ourselves is hard to describe, and at times feels boastful, self-centered, and selfish. I really want to encourage you to truly investigate your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors about this.
Self-love is what allows us to reach our full potential, and it’s filled with compassion, grace, and gentleness.
Self-love is learning to extend kindness toward ourselves, just as we would to our best friend, especially in times of struggle and suffering. It’s a matter of taming our inner critic, accepting our humanness, and believing in our worth – because we all are worthy. This I know for sure!
As women, we have traditionally been the nurturers, finding ourselves taking care of our children, parents, friends, and lovers, before we care for ourselves. In this nurturing role, along with societal and childhood messaging, we’ve developed a belief that we’re undeserving of self-care/self-love unless we’re caring for our loved ones – then it’s our time. But this job/task is never done, and over time this internalized belief creates an automatic narrative that’s a barrier to prioritizing our self-care, and hence our worthiness.
We can learn how to love ourselves – no matter what our age or season of life. Self-love is a practice, no different from yoga, our physical fitness, and our daily nutrition. Self-love doesn’t happen overnight, it’s a journey. Think of it as a seed planted that needs nurturing with water and sun as it goes through stages to bloom. You are ever evolving and growing; allow yourself to bloom. 🌼
Here is a great resource to get you started on your summer of self-love:
You may find other helpful books – so go for it!
I’m also available to be your accountability coach for this journey!
THIS & THAT
👂 If you know me, you know that I’m a BIG podcast listener. I found a couple of helpful podcasts talking about new research on the “Menopausal Brain,” and the role of hormonal shifts during perimenopause and menopause that can impact cognitive health. All women can benefit from listening to this!
Check out this podcast: The goop with Dr. Lisa Mosconi
👀 I also look forward to reading a couple of newsletters every week. One that I especially enjoy is from James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits. 💥 His 3-2-1 message every Thursday includes 3 ideas from him, 2 quotes from others, and 1 thought provoking question to consider for the week. His thoughts and questions get me every time! Here’s an example from a recent newsletter:
"People can help you in many ways throughout life, but there are two things nobody can give you: curiosity and drive. They must be self-supplied.
If you are not interested and curious, all the information in the world can be at your fingertips, but it will be relatively useless. If you are not motivated and driven, whatever connections or opportunities are available to you will be rendered inert.
Now, you won't feel curious and driven about every area of life, and that's fine. But it really pays to find something that lights you up. This is one of the primary quests of life: to find the thing that ignites your curiosity and drive.
There are many recipes for success. There is no single way to win. But nearly all recipes include two ingredients: curiosity and drive."
I encourage you to check out this free newsletter. You can sign up here. Be prepared to be enlightened and challenged!
CLOSING THOUGHTS
I hope you’re intentional with your summer plans and are planning a summer for you! Write your intentions down,📝 include how you want to feel, and post it where you’ll see it daily.
I’m a huge believer in filling your own cup so you can pour into others!
The fulfillment, happiness, growth, and evolution that you cultivate from within will have a positive ripple effect on others!
Make this a summer of self-love, ❤️ along with the fun, adventures, and memory making!
Whenever you’re ready, I’m here to support you!
“A moment of self-compassion can change your entire day. A string of such moments can change the course of your life.” - Dr. Christopher Germer
To your best Summer yet, 😊
Judy
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