Introduction
Welcome to another week with the Coaching Hive podcast. If you remember from last week, September is all about self care. And this week I have something really special for you. I went outside my comfort zone to help promote self-care and the coach that I am welcoming onto this week’s podcast did the same thing. So without further ado, I’d like to welcome Jeannie.
She is a national board, certified health and wellness coach, and a friend of mine and colleague. And I am honored to have her here on the podcast today, where we are going to dig into and dive into self care. Are you ready? Let’s go.
Music and Intro
I’m Dr. Moira. I’m a college professor, instructor, coach, and passionate mentor to health coaches around the world. But I haven’t always been that confident and committed to my coaching career. I was hesitant to take the next step and wasn’t sure what the best approach was to success and fulfillment. I decided to step into my passion and purpose of guiding health coaches on their journey from hesitant health coach to committed health coach, with a unique approach to coach growth, the Coaching Hive Blueprint combines creating a mindful vision with inspiring guidance and progress-driven learning. The coaching hive podcast is your glimpse into the concepts, ideas, and approaches that underscore the coaching hive while giving you the opportunity to implement tools and tips along the way. Are you ready to dive into today’s podcast, then let’s go and remember that this podcast is family-friendly, so go ahead and play it through your speakers.
Conversation with Coach Jeannie
Moira: I’m glad that you’re here. And I would love to take this time together to talk about self care. We’re both, which is right. And I wonder if you could just share with everyone what led you to health coaching?
Jeannie: Hmm, good question. I think the main thing that drove me to it is, is for myself, I have been working my whole life trying to lose weight and, and figure that whole thing out. And then when I realized that health coaching really does work because I worked with a health coach, this is fantastic. I’ve got to learn how to do this.
Moira: So I think that’s kind of how a lot of people come to health coaching is they realized the benefits of having some help in achieving their health and wellness goals. And so we kind of jump in wholeheartedly. I kind of came to it from a situation I needed to be as healthy as possible because we were trying to have a family and I needed to make shifts and my husband needed to make. And so I jumped in and then realized the power of coaching, right. Just we need coaches as a compliment to all our other healthcare providers.
Jeannie: Right. Definitely. And it just, it helps you keep it accountable. It keeps you on track without worrying about going to the doctor or trying to figure out if a medicine works or, you know, it’s just a different way to change your life and your behavior, just a whole different pathway.
Moira: Yeah. It really is. And something that I think is starting to really pick up and gain some momentum here, especially in the United States as we have our certification.
Jeannie: Yeah, definitely. I’m sorry, you cut out just a little bit. So I kinda missed that last piece, but yeah, having that board certification, just validates what we’re doing and makes us more credible. It really does. And I think a lot of times now our healthcare providers are more willing to work with us as health coaches because they realize that we’re doing things from science backgrounds.
Moira: Right?
Jeannie: Absolutely. And that’s what makes me more credible at work. I’m, I’m trying to incorporate this health coaching practice into a surgical office that I work for and having that board certification made all the difference and being able, and I know everybody can’t build with codes right now, but it does help because I’m in the medical practice. So being able to use those codes just makes sense Really.
Moira: Oh, brilliant. To be able to start incorporating health coaching into practices. So it just becomes the norm. It’s a thing that is, oh, I should have a health coach. Where do I find now? You know, we see them more and more just mainstream.
Jeannie: Yeah. Yeah. I’m seeing it more and more insurances, actually one insurance that we had, you were able to use a health coach for free while you were on their medical plan. So, you know, it’s, it’s really up and coming right now.
Moira: That’s amazing. So as we see the need, well, we’ve always had the need for health coaches, but as we see more and more health coaches finding their path forward, getting busier, I feel like self-care really becomes even more important. It’s important way now with building businesses or building partnerships and health coaching, that’s a busy time.
Jeannie: Very yes.
Moira: And you know, you’re building coaching into the medical practice. You work well, that’s just as difficult as building a standalone business. There’s all these that get in the way and self care. Well, it kind of gets pushed to the back burner.
Jeannie: It can for sure. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. I think I was feeling a little bit of that this weekend. Really? It, if you keep driving forward because so many of us want to make this happen and you feel like you’ve just got to keep going and going. And if you don’t take care of yourself in some fashion, you’re going to burn out and you’re going to get tired. Yeah.
Moira: Yes, you’re right. You do, you get scared. And then you start to feel like, do I really want to keep doing this and this the way I’m going to feel, do I want to keep doing it? And that’s a sad, that’s a sad state for our world and for the health coaching profession when we get burned out.
Jeannie: Definitely. And it’s, you know, you lose sight of what your focus really was just because you’re, you’re more focused on how tired you are.
Moira: Yep. And the fact that you just want to go sit on the couch and binge watch some TV. Maybe that self-care is saying I I’ve had enough for right now. And I’ve got to sit down and say no to everything.
Jeannie: Yes. And in reality, that is pretty much what I did this weekend. And along with some other things that I typically do, but I just kind of hit a wall on Friday. I was exhausted. And Saturday, I didn’t want to do anything, see anybody or talk to anybody and you know what, it’s okay. I feel better. It’s it’s just part of getting past where you got stuck.
Moira: What a great point getting past where you got stuck and just saying it’s okay to let all of those other things that maybe you ought to be doing actually tells us we ought to be doing us. Usually us
Jeannie: Always us.
Moira: So stepping back, I think a big part of self-care is stepping back and learning to say, no,
Jeannie: Definitely, definitely. Because if you can’t say no, nobody else is going to do it for you.
Moira: People are going to keep saying, well, do this for me, do this for me. And if you, if we don’t empower ourselves to say no, then we just keep building onto that stress and that out.
Jeannie: Yes. And, and to that point, I learned from you actually having an end point and a stopping point with what you’re doing, I can plan all day long. And that’s part of my self-care, but I don’t put a stop like a time doing, I’ll just keep going then my plans blow. But I’ve learned that and I’ve implemented that and it makes all the difference in the world.
Moira: I’m glad you brought that up because I think a lot of us, especially as health coaches can get drawn into that and we keep working something over and over without just saying, you know what, it’s good enough to keep at this any longer. I need to say, I’m human. The people that are serving are human and we’re all human. Nope, no perfection is necessary.
Jeannie: Yeah. And that that’s actually, it was a very difficult thing for me to wrap my head around is, you know, I write out my plan. I’m going to do this at this time and this at this time. But to actually say, I’m going to do this for 30 minutes. Oh my gosh. I bought it for a while. It was hard.
Moira: It is really hard. And if you set a timer and the timer goes off, I don’t know about you, but I go, oh, but I’m so close. I’ll just stop the timer and I’ll see, I’ll finish up. Yes. Lock-in is 30 minutes later that finished up of 30 seconds was 30 minutes. Yeah. Yeah. We can go on forever. Yeah. Yup. I’ve got to know what are some of your favorite self-care?
Jeannie: So I do, I have a few depends on where I’m at with, with life. If I’m really, really stressed or I’m having a lot of anxiety about something where I’m trying to get started with something new, that kind of gives me a lot of, you know, kind of holds me back a little bit. I will exercise and burn off that extra energy that helps clear my mind. It just, it settles all that, that wasted energy and focus again. So that’s a big one. I journal a lot. If I’m got some low level stress going on and you know, it really just depends on what is going on in my mind. But a lot of times I will journal just even if I can’t figure out what’s happening in my mind, I’ll just write it all down, just get it out of my head. Yes. And then I’ll come back to it. Maybe a couple of days or a week later, I’m like, oh, I knew what’s going on now.
Moira: Yeah. And it just makes sense of it. So maybe that space creates so much clarity. Let’s go on and even just I’ve done it. And a couple of days later I look back at it and think that just wasn’t worth it. I just need to let it go. Yeah. Not serving me.
Jeannie: And sometimes just writing it down is letting it go. You can just close the book and walk away and you get it all out.
Moira: Yeah. It just clears your mind. You don’t have to carry it around with you. I always talk about telling your squirrels to take a nap. Those squirrels that run around in your brain, put them on the journal page. They get to take a nap and they don’t have to bother you anymore.
Jeannie: Exactly. Because that’s just another distraction, you know? Or you need your energy for all those things that you really want to focus on. And if you’ve got these weird things in the back of your mind, going on, you can’t, you can’t put the full energy into what you’re trying to do.
Moira: You can’t you’re right. I love, I also love that you brought up exercise. I wholeheartedly don’t like exercise. I know that’s not what I’m supposed to say, but I never, I do. I do exercise mostly. I do find a lot of joy in it when I get through exercising. But getting there is a little tough, but I will say, you know, exercising, it does bring clarity. It settles everything down. It gets all of that nervous energy in my case, out of the way. So that I actually stop and think about what it is I’m supposed to be doing. And a lot of times it’s so much simpler than I thought it was.
Jeannie: Yeah. Always. That’s the same for me. And I, I’m not, I always liked to exercise it and love it, love it. But when I decided that exercise was my way of getting past anxiety, it just, I love it. I crave it sometimes because I know that I need to get rid of that energy that I don’t necessarily do it for physical health or weight loss or anything like that. It’s it’s really mental health.
Moira: Yes. I would go when I was in college before I was married, I would run and I was engaged for three years. So my fiancé at that time would say, you’re going for a run, okay. Something big was happening. He needed, it’s just go for it and get it out. And then we could talk about whatever was going on, but I was going for a run, something was happening and I needed to settle it. And then we could talk about what I was worried about or stressed about or just kind of thinking about and figure out,
Jeannie: Yeah, exactly. Same. My husband will. He’ll be like, have you been down on the treadmill lately? Maybe you need to go,
Moira: Should you go down and walk on the treadmill? I get that too. That subtle hint of something’s not right. Take care of yourself. I know it will help. Right. Yeah.
Jeannie: You know, there’s a problem when they know before you do,
Moira: But You know, that’s also a part of self-care is having that supportive network that can step in and say, I see, something’s not working. How can I help? Or what do you need?
Jeannie: Yeah, exactly. And, and really there are times when I don’t realize I’m spinning out of control and he will say something and that changes it. I’ll go do my thing and be fine.
Moira: And it’s, you know, we’re as humans we’re made to be social creatures, but yet I love to read I’m super introverted. I love to just sit on the couch with a blanket and sink into a book and I’m perfectly content. So I don’t go out and seek that social support just naturally not my natural state of being. We need it though. We need, oh, when to reach out when to say, okay. And it makes a difference.
Jeannie: It does. And sometimes that when I journal, that’s when I realize, oh, you know, I’m tired. I need to rest. Or, you know, I’m missing my friends. I need to go call them or go out with them or, or whatever. And that I, you know, you get so caught up in life. Sometimes you just don’t know what you need until you either write it down or talk to someone. And some people can shine the light on it better than you can yourself.
Moira: Yep. And even just someone else, someone who’s not close to you, like in the most close to you sharing on else, even just speaking those words can bring clarity.
Jeannie: Right. Absolutely.
Moira: And All of that helps I think, with the burnout or the potential for burnout, when we are doing these things like exercising and journaling, then it gets easier. It was big.
Jeannie: Yeah. You can see it quicker. I think.
Moira: Yeah. I’m taking a yoga for stress relief. Course. It’s have yoga practice every single day.
Jeannie: Wow. That sounds amazing.
Moira: Stretching my ability to exercise regularly. Amazing because we start with mindset at the beginning of the week and we do full yoga and more and more power yoga to get our breath going so that we can think with clarity. And it’s just a reminder that there’s no one, no one way for self care to happen.
Jeannie: Definitely. Yeah. It can look like sometimes I will drive to work and I will turn off my phone, my radio. And sometimes just sitting in silence is just what I need just to go to work for 20 minutes in quiet.
Moira: Yup. And sitting in the silence is powerful because it does allow the clutter to clear and find some of those answers sometimes that, that, and just recognize that maybe the answer isn’t there yet. Yep. I’ve done that. I’ve turned, I’ve gotten in the car and turned everything off and you just drive in silence and just allow that to calm your body without all that external noise.
Jeannie: Right. More distractions. If there, I would say that if whatever self-care, someone chooses, if it eliminates distractions, so you can get in touch with yourself, then it’s the right time.
Moira: If you can find your rights, find the kind of self-care that eliminates distraction. Even if it’s paint her nails. I know some people say, oh, painting your nails is not self-care, but it is. If it’s allowing you to sit down and stop and be quiet and to be with yourself, then yeah. It’s self-care and you end up with pretty nails. So bonus bonus. So it doesn’t always have to be things like exercise, you know, those tried and true things. People always say, well self-care is exercise and it’s getting sleep. And yes, it’s all of those things, but it’s also really personal.
Jeannie: Yeah. It’s really about listening to what your body and your mind needs and doing it.
Moira: Yeah. Yeah. And I see a friend of mine, John on, and he was live, they saying, you know, you really have to say no. And we were talking about that to learn, to say no, because it allows you to say yes to other things, but saying no to that extra commitment means you get a reasonable time function better the next day, or with your friend looks different for everyone. And like you said, it, when we were starting, you said, it kind of depends on where I’m at in my life as self-care I need what’s going on. And that helps me to decide.
Jeannie: Definitely. Yeah. Because one day is not going to look like another, you have different stresses throughout your life and throughout the week and exercise might work in one case, but you might need a bubble bath.
Moira: Your right, I’ve got a good friend. Her husband sends her off to the bubble bath, says, okay, here, you’re about to go get your bath and you can’t come out until you can tell me three good things because it makes her stop and reframe the debt in a way that allow of gratitude. Our husbands saying the treadmill recently is our sole support also helps us to know what we need in the moment aren’t able to see back clearly . So I think we’ve covered a lot of different concepts here and think about self-care and for you and the different. So do you have any kind of last tips about other health coaches because are hoping to, to minimize that burnout and that stress level, especially as health coaching is really, and we want to see it take off and to be successful to do that in a healthy way. We’re all health coaches. Right?
Jeannie: Right, Right. I, I think the, the one thing that I do most every day that keeps me on track is my planner. It’s with me all the time. I write everything down. So a I don’t have to remember it, but yeah, I don’t forget it and see, I’m not wasting valuable energy, trying to figure out where all the stuff is, you know, it’s all in one place it’s right there.
Moira: So what do you think is the value of having a, do you have a written planner? Right? Do, do you find that there’s value at written planner versus a virtual one?
Jeannie: I tried, huh? I tried doing one with my iPad and it was nice. It was cute, but man, it didn’t feel right. It just, there’s something about paper and pen that just makes it, there’s like this connection from your mind to your hand, to the paper that makes it real at least.
Moira: You’re right. Putting that paper that, not paper to pen and paper, pencil to paper, whatever it is to create your plan. I think it’s because you’re using more senses. I feel like, and the more we involve in the moment, the more effective it’s going, Your goal out and writing it down that just adds to the patient to your willingness, to give it a whirl, that planner and being able to identify, like I identify my top three rocks for the day, my top three must do. And I plan and I feel such a big sense of accomplishment when those are done. And then I have the lesser things underneath that. If they get moved, nothing’s going to happen.
Jeannie: It’s still there. You can still see it. And I like to put affirmations in there too. I don’t do it every day, but there’s something about, not only are you thinking about the affirmation, but you’re also writing it out. So it’s, it gives you a double shot at having that affirmation kind of sink in.
Moira: Do you do that on a daily basis?
Jeannie: A lot of days. Probably not every day, but it’s always, I open my planner for the week and I can see them there if I add to it. I do. If I, if I don’t have time, then I don’t.
Moira: Okay. I like that idea. I use a quote of the week in my planner, but I hadn’t thought to do daily is in my planner. I like that idea.
Jeannie: Yeah. It’s nice. It starts that I always start in the morning. So I open it, you know, after I get up and that’s, that’s what I start with. I write in an affirmation, I write out my to do’s and what’s coming up and just refresh my mind. And so the first thing is an affirmation.
Moira: Oh, that’s perfect. I love it. I think that I need to write it down. So I remember Calling my planner so that I can plan to write my affirmations planner,
Jeannie: Jot a note in my planner to remind you,
Moira: I’m thinking my planner’s just out of reach. I can’t quite grasp. Oh my goodness. So thank you so much. You’ve given really, you’ve given me some new insights and I know that one of the goals I told you when I asked if you wanted to come on with me live to talk was that I’d love to raise awareness for health coaches so that we are living a healthy lifestyle. And that includes self care and self care is something we often just push to the back burner, whether we’re health coaches or not. But I do think health coaches are susceptible to it like everyone else, and we need to be good role models. So it’s, you know, it’s a win and we get to be a good role. Also get to take care of ourselves so that we can sustain careers as health coaches. Yeah, yeah. For, for spending time with me tonight and coming to share your ideas. I really appreciate. Thank you.
Jeannie: You’re welcome. It was my privilege.
Moira: Thank you to everyone who is listening. I love, love those ideas that you guys heard as well.
Conclusions
Wasn’t it absolutely wonderful to hear genie’s ideas as she shared self-care, as we chatted self-care together and recognizing that self-care for everyone is different. There’s no right or wrong to self-care provided that you are actually doing some form of self-care. So next week we will continue our conversations all around self-care and coaching. And until then, I hope you are able to take time out of your day for some good quality self-care.
