EP 137: 2022 Summer Quickie Series - Burnout Tip #1

It's summertime. And that means it's time for the summer quickie series, short, actionable self care episodes that can help you change how you feel in your life this summer and beyond.

There's this meme going around about there's no hot girl summer. It's going to be golden girls summer. It's going to be Ruben S beauties by the pool summer. And I would like to add my little take on that. And that is, we are heading into junior end of junior year. We're between junior and senior year of COVID summer.

Oh my God. What have we done? We are all feeling crispy. We are all feeling burnt out. So the first 10 episodes of this self care series is going to be all about completing the stress cycle. A bunch of us got together last year, we read a chapter week of Burnout. The secret to unlocking the stress cycle by Emily Nagoski PhD.

I love that book. So very much, but this is what I'm going to tell you. So many people are like, oh my God, Tammy, I do not have time to read another book. So I'm going to give you the quick and dirty what you need to do. The highlights, the cliff notes, the absolute bare essentials. So today's self-care quickie is all about.

It Is about setting us up for understanding the stress cycle as well as the first and most effective way to complete the stress cycle. So if you have not read the book burnout, the secret to unlocking the stress cycle, let me set you up.

So imagine this scenario, it's a long time ago, you're out and about, there is a saber tooth tiger. And you make eye contact with it and you think, wow, what big teeth you have? And the saber tooth tiger thinks, wow, what a delicious lunch I see on the horizon. You see the thought bubble. You take off running the saber tooth tiger runs after you eats you. And that completes the stress cycle.

The next scenario is you see the same. Saber-tooth tiger. It sees you, you think, oh my God, last week, my cousin Billy got killed by that tiger or that tiger his cousin. I'm not going to fall for that trick. I'm going to run in the other direction and get some help. And then you and your crew end up having saber tooth tiger tacos for dinner, stress cycle.

Complete third scenario. You're walking in a crosswalk this weekend, a bus comes out of nowhere, screeches right in front of you and scares. You have to death in the crosswalk. You continue walking, shaking your fist at the driver. The driver gives you the I'm so sorry. I didn't see you face. You feel bad for the driver.

You get on the sidewalk. You think? Whew. I'm glad that's over. Stress cycle incomplete. Here's the deal. If the bus driver had actually mowed you over and you died, stress cycle would be complete, but here's the thing. According to the Guskey sisters, when you remove the stressor that be the bus in the crosswalk or the saber tooth tiger that is removing the stress.

What you're left over inside is all the leftover we'll call it ugly. Boogaloos if you will, of the stress, that's still coursing through your veins. So in order to not shorten our lives, we actually have to, once the stress is gone, we have to complete the stress cycle.

So in today's episode, we're going to talk very quickly about everyone's least favorite topic, and that is the most effective, efficient way to complete the stress cycle. That's right. Ladies and gentlemen, everybody's most hated activity. Moving your body, AKA exercise. The recommendation is for 20 to 60 minutes of vigorous exercise, more often than not.

Here we go here. So here is once again, somebody else saying exercise is the answer to so many questions that we don't want to hear. And yet here it is again. So your assignment right now, Is to perhaps journal about how exercise has played a role in your life so far, how it's made you feel great, how it's made you feel terrible and how perhaps with this new information of, Ooh, I need to actually do this thing so that I can, I don't know, live longer, feel better process my stress, sleep better.

It's the foundation for a lot of. Feeling good in our lives. What could you do as an activity in this season of life that you're in junior year of COVID coming up on hot burnout summer? What could you do to process your stress by moving your body? Would you like to go to. Would you like to run stairs at the local college?
Would you like to do an online Zima class? Would you like to do jumping jacks or play Simon says or swing kickball? I know.

Let me explain that last summer, my daughter and I went to the park. With the playground in the morning before anyone was there. Cause you know, I made of the sun and I don't like to hang out in the heat.

So we went eight in the morning and my child grabbed a rubber ball from the car. She said, Hey mama, I'll swing. You pitch it to me. I'll kick the ball and you run after it. And I thought that sounds terrible. And a lot, like I'm going to be doing all the running and she's going to be doing the fun part.

And then I realized, oh wow. Team captain of keeper, mom, healthy over there on the swing is helping me out. And there was another parent at the park and he thought he actually thought I saw the thought bubble. And then he was nice enough to tell me. He said, wow, you're actually really getting a workout.

And your kid is truly helping you. And I thought, I know it looks like play for her, but it's worked for me. Quite frankly, completing the stress cycle. So what I'm telling you is get creative. Maybe it's a walk and talk with a friend. Maybe it's a speed walk around the shopping mall because it's too hot outside.

I don't know. But the point is the good news and the bad news of so much of self care is we know what to do. We probably even know how to do it. And now we have to make that effort because we're not doing it for anyone but ourselves because reminders self-care, isn't selfish. Self-care is the thing that fuels you in order to feel the way you want to feel in your everyday life.

So come back next week, or we're going to have another episode in the self care summer quickie series, and then tell them. Remember that you matter too. Ooh, one last note, if you're not yet on my email newsletter list, now's the time to join. We're coming up on the very, very first, mid year, new year series four deferred maintenance immersion.

So if you were somebody who was like in January, oh my God. That sounds incredible. I think I'm going to be able to do this. All my illness year, I know I've got it. And you're looking at yourself this summer and you're wondering where your goals went. And you're wondering what your word of the year is.

And you're wondering how you're going to change your habits. And you're wondering all the things guests. We're doing a do-over and you're invited. I just want to tell you that all only the people who are on the newsletter list will be open for early pricing and bonuses. So head on over to the show notes [email protected].

Sign up for the newsletter list where you can. First in line to find out more how you can join mid-year new year version of deferred maintenance emersion. See you next week.