Chances are you have a lot on your to-do list.

Next week’s holiday (July 4 will be Independence Day here in America) may be adding to your list of what you have to DO.

It’s certainly adding to mine.

We’re going to be heading out of town next week and I have several deadlines to meet before we go. I want to be as unplugged as possible while we are away, so that means taking care of a lot of business and personal details.

I can feel my stress level starting to build.

How this shows up for me is a feeling of anxiety. I become less present and am easily distracted. This means I make more mistakes, and therefore I have to spend even more time correcting them. I become less patient and so efficient with my words that it sounds like harshness, which impacts my relationships. All of this just creates a feeling of overwhelm.

It creates a negative spiral.

Sound familiar?

I know I’m not alone in my stress reaction.

It used to be that the first thing to be crossed off my to-do list would be moving my body and eating healthy foods.

I just didn’t think I had the time or energy.

Because I wasn’t listening to the message my emotions were giving me—and was neglecting my wellness—my body would force me to pay attention with an injury or illness.

Once my wellness became my top priority, exercise and healthy eating stayed on the list, but they still felt like something I HAD to do.

And my body could still have that backlash during stressful times.

There is so much more to wellness than checking your workout off your “to-do” list and eating relatively healthy foods.

A significant part of optimal wellness is believing in your wellness and your capacity to deal with any outer situation.

The purpose of life is to give you a chance to be the

grandest version of the greatest vision ever you held

about Who You Are. When challenges arrive, then,

move straight to clarity: This is what you came for.

Now rise to this occasion, and know that you have

every resource with which to create the right and

perfect outcome.

~Neale Donald Walsch

In other words, creating optimal wellness—and dealing with a long to-do list—are more about BEING than DOING.

It’s counter-intuitive, but to give yourself the “juice” or energy to accomplish everything you want to get done, you actually need to spend more time being—rest, meditate, move your body, spend quality time with your family, take a nap, mindfully drink a cup of tea, savor a piece of sun-ripened fruit.

This is why the Dalai Lama says that on normal days, he meditates for 1 hour in the morning. On extremely busy days, he meditates for 2 hours in the morning.

Now moving my body is part of my “me time,” or by “be time” if you prefer. Eating healthy foods is a gift I give to myself. As my schedule amps up, I am focusing on slowing down and being more deliberate and aware.

When your to-do list or life-challenge starts to control you rather than the other way around, it’s important to remember that:

• Almost all illness and injury is evidence of being out of balance and is temporary. Wellness is your natural state of being.
• You are unique, powerful, gifted, resourceful, and loved. A great part of optimal wellness is seeing yourself that way.
• You are never, ever, given a challenge you cannot overcome.

How does reminding yourself of this help you create the body you want—no matter what is going on?

How can you take moving your body and eating healthy foods off your to-do list and prioritize it so it’s part of your energizing “be time?”

Together we can do it!