I learned of a tragic event today that stopped me in my tracks.
It was the news about a former colleague who had suddenly suffered two massive strokes a few months ago, and is now confined to a wheelchair– barely able to speak. He is 49 years old.
What struck me most is how in an instant, out of the blue and without warning, the daily things he took for granted had dramatically changed, and his life as he knew it will never be the same.
I began to recount the small talk conversations he and I had had over the years passing one another in the building’s coffee shop. One conversation several years ago particularly stood out to me today, as my mind grappled with the shock of his newly found plight.
We were talking about being busy and having way too many things to do, and how his job and business networking left little time for anything else.
‘ I need to make some time to take care of myself’, he half-joked and put his hand on his stomach. ‘For starters I need to start exercising again.’
We exchanged some fodder about how difficult it was to balance all the demands on our time, and moved on.
Today, that phrase won’t stop replaying in my mind.
‘I need to make some time to take care of myself.’
It provokes me to pose these questions to you in this post today:
As a busy leader with the never-ending demands coming your way, are you ‘making the time to take care of yourself?’
Are you putting everything else you have to do first, and your self-care last?
Are you putting off those routine doctor’s appointments because you are too busy?
Is exercising and eating right something you will do ‘someday’ when you have the time?
And finally…does it take a sobering wake-up call like my colleague’s to remind you that the only “someday” you have for certain is this moment?
What choices are you making for yourself in this moment, right now?
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