When we have a lot going on one of the easiest ways to screen out some of the “noise” is to have non-negotiables.

Having just a few things that we stick to regardless can help us to easily and quickly prioritise everything else.  As well as ensure that at the end of the day, if nothing else, we can be confident we’ve taken care of the few things we know matter the most to us, and make the most discernible difference in our lives.

So here are my non-negotiables;

1. Daily movement – it isn’t always as ambitious as a run or intense Pilates session, sometimes it is just 10 minutes standing in the kitchen working on my upper back movement (check out the plethora of standing sessions on the app and YouTube if this is also one of yours!)

2. Mental health moments – if you’ve been following me a while you may already know that I had a bout of severe depression a few years back.  It was horrendous at the time, for me and my family, but I can’t say I regret the wake up call to start actively managing my mental health.  Just like my physical health, it requires daily work and attention.  For me that can change day to day, from a spontaneous walk when I feel my anxiety spike, to 5 minutes focused breathing using my hands on my chest and tummy.  Of course running and Pilates play a huge part too, but sometimes I’m not somewhere I can easily get up and move.  So having a varied and comprehensive toolkit has been vital for me.

3. Quality sleep – for me lack of quality sleep has an immediate and very negative affect on both my physical and mental health.  So I have very clear boundaries around my bedtime routine and ensuring I get the best sleep I can.  Don’t get me wrong, I do go out for late nights on occasion, but I always aim to follow up with a few early nights following that to make up for it.

These sound selfish, surely I should prioritise time with my kids? Helping others? 

I totally agree, and both of those are really important to me.  But it is the classic case of putting my own mask on first in a plane crash.  If I fall down on any one of the above, my ability to do anything else is compromised.  

I might manage to hobble on for a few days, weeks or even months.  However, I know from bitter and hard experience that at some point I will falter and I will fall, and that will have a drastic impact on my family and loved ones.

So, what are your non-negotiables?

If you don’t already have any then I highly recommend taking a small amount of time to think about it.  I promise the benefits are really worthwhile!

If you’re not sure where to start then first think about;

• your personal values
• what kind of identity you want for yourself (check out my emails the past few weeks) – – – your priorities are at any given time in your life.  

From there you can narrow down to two or three key pillars which will support you across all areas of your life.

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