Real Talk. I don't get out much. I don't go to an office. My meetings are online. I do almost all of my work in front of the computer. Some days, it feels like the only times I get out of the house are to take the garbage out, pick Emily up from school or a friend's place and the occasional errand.
It wasn't always like this.
In high school, before I had a car, I used to bike or walk everywhere. I also occasionally went for walks in the woods. We went on occasional hikes when we lived in Seattle. There was a seven-month period where I biked 5 1/2 miles to work each way here in DC. During the pandemic, Pam and I used to go for daily walks in the neighborhood or on a nearby trail. Those walks are pretty infrequent now as well. It's so bad that my colleagues at Digimentors have a hashtag about it in our WhatsApp group: #GetNeilOutside.
In this episode, we're focusing on the mental health benefits of surrounding yourself in nature. The physical benefits are well documented.
We discussed this and more on a new show that I launched with Dawn Helmrich, “Shining Light on Shadows: A Candid Conversation About Mental Health.” Steffen Kaplan will be our guest. You can watch recording on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram* and my website.
*We will upload the video to Instagram shortly.
In his blog post, Steffen focused on a meditative approach to being in nature, with a camera in hand. I love photography. I am sure that I could try to use nature walks / photography as a stress reduction technique.
I think I get overwhelmed thinking about the possibilities. Self-care is absolutely important. But where do I start? More consistent sleep? Using my CPAP machine, for my severe Sleep Apnea? Being more consistent about taking my Blood Pressure medication? Eat better? (Yeah, too much junk food, more than a few extra pounds just below camera view during my online meetings.) Do I find the time for physical therapy on the finger I broke horsing around with Emily? Exercise? Back to bike riding?
Like a lot of things, it all feels so overwhelming. Not knowing where to start leads to paralysis and not starting anywhere. Knowing myself, I'd probably spend time on a nature walk telling myself I should be doing one of the other half dozen things I should be doing to take care of myself.
I'm going to do my best not to drag everyone down on the show, but these challenges are real. I'm looking for the "right" or "perfect" approach. In my heart, I know there isn't a "right" approach, but that still doesn't stop my head from thinking it. More importantly, I know that the idea that there's a "right" and "wrong" way to approach self-care is somewhat ludicrous. Do any of those things and then add a second or a third once you've built the habit.
Easy to say. Harder to do. In the meantime, I just sit and stew.
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