Exhausted!

When I get tired it can feel as if every room is a mess. Even though truth be told, it's the bathroom, where wellbeing and taking care of yourself is the central issue/topic and can, for me lead to every other room!

So... rather than stay up and write this blog about how my work/office feels messy (so much to do, so many projects I want to finish, both at work and in my home office... like another book!) then there's the bathroom, where I've gained a few pounds, been injured and stress eating, and the kids rooms where I need to make more time to get to their crew races and check in on my daughter's academic ups and downs (though she wants to be left alone about this, to fix it herself!)... Then there's the bedroom where honestly sometimes I get so tired my pillow is the most attractive thing in view... we've all been there, so if my hubby reads this, forgive me honey, since you are still/always my number one... it's just that darn pillow is calling my name!

Then there's the irony that just when I feel overwhelmed and exhausted others see me as having it together. I raced well this weekend, after weeks of injuries. Others see the results, and I see the work I still have to do to get back in to the shape I know I can be in! So... of course the very day I am set to skype into a book club and offer advice, I feel I need it. Need to reread my own book, need to lean on the supportive friends around me (thank goodness for them!) and need most of all to take better care of myself. So, as I said, going to bed! Things always seem easier and brighter when I'm rested! Night all. Take care of YOURselves as well.

My key proccess: too much of a good thing (work, training, trying to be a super achiever) is a bad thing (I get run down and overwhelmed). My pearl: Know your limits. Saying no isn't selfish, it's self preservation. Night!

Tweet for a chance to win Nine Rooms!

WHAT'S YOUR PEARL?

A fun contest is underway to win a signed copy of The Nine Rooms of Happiness! This week, you can follow one of follow all of us on Twitter for the chance to win a signed copy The Nine Rooms of Happiness by Lucy Danziger and Catherine Birndorf: @selfmagazine, @lucydanziger, @cbirndorfmd, @hyperionvoice, @shrevewilliams.

Retweet or reply to one of two daily pearls (hashtag #9roomsgiveaway) for a chance to win every day during the week of February 21*.

*One winer will be chosen at random from all retweets and replies between 12am and 11:59pm every day beginning February 21st and concluding February 25th.

I get sentimental!

Today is President's Day and I think about these school holidays in terms of what we USED to do, with the kids when they were little, and myself when I was a kid: skiing at Stratton and long weekends on cold February slopes of icy terrain and windy chairlifts and I literally mist up. At the time I was frozen, banged up from falling and trying to keep up with my big brother. Then the kids made the trek back up to Vermont with me and suffered the same way and now I think: those were the good old days!

Its time for me to get out of my basement and be more aware of how to live in the present, enjoy today, and the grown teenagers who no longer share the same holidays as each other (or me at times since my shipping of the magazine doesn't stop for their spring break) and I think: snap out of it. Yes, those were great times, despite the discomforts, but there are great times to be had now.

I'm on my way to LA to appear on TV for the book, The Talk, on CBS, is hosting me and I am so grateful for the chance to help other women be happier in their day to day lives. My husband is coming too, for a business meeting so these are good times. After all, I saw my scrumptuous daughter yesterday, and my 17-year-old son recently, so the fact that we aren't all together on a chairlift is just fine. I have to pinch myself and say: life is good. Now is it. That's the pearl from the basement. Live in the present and think: Now is it!

Share your pearls with us on Twitter and you could win a signed book from us. Please, we all need your pearls. You are the expert in your own experience. Share it!

A blogger writes... about the basement! Everyone has one.

Here's a great post from a blogger about getting past our childhood fears and moving forward, taking a leap of faith. We call it "go or grow," which means basically you go along with the status quo, or grow, take the risk and move forward. What's holding you back? Read this and think about what it is you want to try, and how to get to the point where you are ready to do it!

http://balance-today.com/2011/02/happiness-part-2-the-basement/comment-page-1/#comment-267

Get Ready for Take Two Tuesday!

Tomorrow is February 1. Let's not think of it as the February Blahs, but as...Take Two Tuesday!

This is a great day to decide to clean up your act and renew your resolutions. But first, ask yourself: Why didn't you stick to them the last time? Probably because you had "exterior motivations" of getting slim, saving money, etc. Instead, try to think more from the inside out, starting with an emotional motivator that means more to you than a size on the back tag of your jeans.

My first piece of advice: Do it from a place of being kind to yourself. Don't hate and punish yourself by dragging yourself out of bed with less than seven hours' sleep and going to the gym. Sleep in. Be rested, eat well, treat yourself to berries and a lovely fish dinner, and then, only when you're feeling rested and fueled, go work out. Think of it as a way of banishing the blahs: Treat yourself to the things that will pay you back. At SELF we say that "health is the new handbag," and what we mean by that is: Invest in your health and well-being. Do it for you!

The exterior will reflect the interior, meaning happiness will lead to healthiness, if you start from a place of wanting to be the best you, inside and out. Want to be happier? Less stressed? More calm? Find purpose in your work and relationships? These are goals that allow you to truly change from within. Whatever is stressing you out can wait for an hour while you go take a swim, a walk, a yoga class. Whoever bummed you out or pissed you off today doesn't deserve the headspace that will drive you to the cupboard to munch on the wrong foods, late at night, as you think about the conflicts of your day. Let those things be exterior, roll off you, and then tell yourself that you can and will tackle them tomorrow. But today, take care of yourself. Only you can do that!

Why don't "resolutions" work? Because they are too sweeping, all-encompassing, draconian and usually negative. As in: I'll get to the gym every day! I'll swear off sugar! I'll be more organized. Well, those are great impulses, but to be kind to yourself sometimes you have to skip the early morning call time, have a sweet and let the ugly stack of bills sit there for another night while you watch Biggest Loser or American Idolwith your honey, just for fun!

People always think, "If I lost a few sizes, got in shape, I'd be happier." But the truth is, if you got a little happier, you'd stop all the self-destructive habits and get healthier. Resolutions don't work because you don't hate yourself enough to punish yourself with grim gyms and tasteless diet foods. If you like yourself, which most of us do, then treat yourself to healthy foods like fresh berries and yogurt for breakfast, salmon or salad for lunch, and a healthy dinner that doesn't involve fried greasy takeout.

So on Take Two Tuesday, first cut yourself a break and get sleep, then treat yourself right to the best fresh food you can find, and if you feel like working out, do it. But go to bed early, to start a positive chain reaction. Now that wasn't so hard, was it?

Too busy to take this simple advice? Think of this: The airlines say put on your own oxygen mask first, because if you collapse you're no good to anyone around you. The key process here is "too much of a good thing is a bad thing," meaning that by giving too much to everyone else around you (boss, spouse, kids, friends, etc), you end up with no time or energy to take care of the inner or outer you. So many of us fall into the trap of defining being successful as taking care of the house, the car the kids the job and all the things we own. We need to take care of ourselves, both our inner and outer selves. It's not selfish to make time or invest in your health and happiness. It's self-preservation.

You deserve to be healthy and happy. For more tips on how to be happier and healthier from the inside out, check out the tips in the book I coauthored with SELF expert Catherine Birndorf, M.D., The Nine Rooms of Happiness: Loving Your Self, Finding Your Purpose and Getting Over Life's Little Imperfections.