Take a deep breath.
No really. Stop reading and take a deep breath.
Do you do that enough?
I know I don’t.
(Side note: I actually set alarms on my Fitbit to go off throughout the day to remind myself to just stop and breathe.)
Our #SApro and #SAgrad lives are often full of hustle and bustle. We put our students and our families before ourselves. Some of us live on campus. Some of us are on-call. Our email accounts are synced to our cell phones. We work nights and we work weekends. We respond to crisis at all hours. Worse, we can’t turn it off. Our calendars and our inboxes are full. We give and we give and we give to our students and our institutions. Our bodies, hearts, and minds are often the last thing on our mind.
I hope we can learn from one another throughout this series. But even more than that, I hope we are inspired by one another.
When I was setting up this series, I got an email from a complete stranger who wanted to contribute a post about her journey and experience with Cross Fit. I opened up to her about some things that I was struggling with (body image, strength training, believing in myself, etc.) and she replied to me, lovingly, in all caps: YOU ARE CAPABLE OF SO MUCH!
It filled my heart. She inspired me in that one simple email: to try new things, to believe in myself, to connect with new #SApros and #SAgrads all over the country, to take risks, to make friends outside of our field …just to name a few. I believe that as a student affairs community we are strong, both mentally and physically. Probably, we are even stronger than we know. Together, we can achieve more not only for our students and our institutions, but also ourselves.
I’m excited to host the April series of #SAfit. I think that #SAfit can mean a lot of things. But for me it’s all about how I remember to put myself first among the days of hustle and bustle in the SA world. Let this series to serve as an opportunity for us all to celebrate one another and be inspired. Let’s work towards moving ourselves to the top of our to-do lists.
And remember to slow down long enough to take a deep breath every now and then.
Interested in contributing to this series during the month of April? Contact me!
“It took her awhile to figure out she could run but when she did, it changed her life.”
This post is part of our #SAfit series for April. With the constant hustle and bustle of our profession, we can’t forget to put ourselves at the top of our to-do list sometimes. It is essential that we remember to take time for self care and this series highlights how our colleagues work #SAfit into their lifestyles. This can look different for each of us and your journey is your own. For more info, please see Mandi Stewart’s intro post. Be sure to check out the other posts in this series too!
