Warning! Warning! Warning!

Every so often, I get a notification on my phone. A little alert tells me I'm near my data limit or my phone's storage capacity. I'm told if I don't address these issues, my phone will run slower, my apps will take longer to load and my husband will wonder what the hell I do on my phone all day.

I usually ignore these warnings and just deal with slower processing (because I'm lazy), but occasionally I'll go in and clear out my storage. I've also learned I need to restart my phone every few days (since I never turn it off) or the same thing happens: slow performance.

And it works! My phone runs better. Miracles!

Well, here's an alert notification for you: 2020 has deleted our storage capacity.

Do you find you're operating slower, taking longer to get things done and feeling rundown all the time?

Do you find you're not sleeping well, not restarting correctly, and not clearing out your mental data?

When that happens, the best thing to do is acknowledge something's wrong, identify what that is, take the time to address it and give yourself time to heal.

We're bad at doing all of those things.

We continue to take on more work (I should start a podcast!) or begin new projects (hello, painting the entire house!) without listening to the alerts and notifications our bodies are sending out.

These alerts can include:

Insomnia

Illness

Dread

Exhaustion

Fear

Depression

Overeating

Undereating

Numbing (alcohol, drugs, Snickers bars, shopping, social media, etc.)

But we push through. And we get slower. And slower . . .

What if we paid attention to those warnings? What if we feel overwhelmed and decide to take it easy for a couple of days? What if we feel fatigued and eat healthier foods, get rest and drink more water? What if instead of ignoring out built-in warning systems, we shut everything down until we recover?

But I can't!!!! (You know you said it.) You can.

What will my family/job/dog/spouse/children/parakeet do??? They'll figure it out.

I feel so guilty. Being kind to yourself is necessary for survival.

Other people do it all. Bullshit.

If we don't start paying attention to our minds and bodies, we're going to be in a world of hurt. Plus, we're teaching our children it's okay to ignore, numb, avoid and run away. By practicing self-care you'll feel better, function better and be better equipped to handle the 2020 (and probably 2021) dumpster fire.

Set an intention (right now!) to take a nap, eat an apple, go outside, walk the dog, have some chai tea, get a massage, stop painting the bathroom - and let yourself restart.

If you need help working through the difficulty or guilt of doing this, reach out to me at Peri@LandLCoaching.com. I'd love to talk with you.

Peri Kinder is a Happiness Coach, Certified Yoga Teacher, Meditation Instructor and Humor Columnist.