20 minutes in a park is a great start to self-care.
Wow, the holidays. Temperature check: is everyone ok out there?
While it’s often a season for joy, the reality is unless you are five years old or less, the holidays can be more complicated. Whether you had jingle-earworms from listening to Christmas carols on repeat at the mall, still have glitter on all your outfits courtesy of your kid’s holiday craft projects, or are weary of too many cocktail-sized meals from work and personal parties, it can be over the top. Salt that state of being with a bit of nostalgia for times and loved ones past, and you’ve got a veritable Big Gulp-sized slushie of feelings.
We see you. Your fellow merry-makers at Blue Flamingo might have also consumed entire popcorn tins from Traders Joe’s that were meant to be presents for someone else, drunk eggnog with wild abandon while singing Karaoke, and had multiple viewings of Love, Actually with our besties.
So listen up, and put down that Peppermint Cookie Latte. Because we are speaking from experience (*burp) and we know better now.
Now that you’ve enjoyed the holiday decadence, it’s time to start your year with a gift: self-care.
Yes, “self-care” can feel like an overused zeitgeist-y (apologies to the Germans) sort of word lately considering all the media play that it’s been getting. But once you get past the cliche associations of buying yourself flowers and locking yourself in the bathroom for a bubble bath, there’s merit to it.
Self-care means, well, taking a moment to take care of yourself. That can mean different things to different people. It might be eating macaroons while binge-watching Emily in Paris, shooting some hoops by yourself, or going full-on flip-the-flamingo to everyone and going camping alone in an awesome local campground or nearby forest.
Whether you only have 20 minutes to sit in stillness on a park bench or a whole day (if that’s you, we’re matcha green with envy) it is worth it.
And self-care is not just for women, either. A recent study showed that men who engaged in self-care reported increased energy and clear thinking as some of the primary benefits.
You can rebrand it if you want (like, it’s Bro Solo Time?) Or whatever….as the shoe company likes to say, just do it. The mental and physical rewards are myriad. And bonus–when you make time to take care of yourself, you can have more energy to take care of others, too.
Which brings us to the business end of the stick. Since we’re talking about caring, and taking care of others, that includes your clients.
Take a minute to step into their sparkly holiday shoes. Imagine their inboxes being saturated to the digital bursting point with email after email selling something. It was all some version of BUY OUR THING NOW for weeks leading up to the big gift-giving days. Festive fatigue, right?
So with that in mind, don’t forget to connect with your customers in an authentic way. Instead of thinking about what you want to sell them this month, think about what they need. What could you send that might make their lives easier this coming year?
A big part of marketing is meeting people where they’re at and listening to them.
With that in mind, check the pulse of your people. Instead of telling them things, try asking questions instead. Reach out and see what the #currentvibe is on social media. A little heartfelt homework is sometimes necessary, especially considering the year we’ve all been having.
Why? Now that we’re in the Recovery Phase, it’s time to renew that commitment you made to building better relationships with your clients. (Haven’t started? That’s ok. It’s never too late!)
Got it? Self-care = good. Take yourself on a date, stat. And once you’ve recharged, you’ll have the energy to have more authentic communication.
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