M is for Moderation:
5 Tips and Takeaways + Bonus Content
How to Use Moderation—the MVP of SMART—to Prioritize Self-Care, Get Out of Your Own Way, and Manage Stress
Wholeness, health, and well-being is a package—including what goes on in your own mind.
Check out the five approachable thought-starters, tips, and takeaways on this page—then explore subscriber-exclusive downloadable content and resources to support your sprouted life with a moderation mindset!
5 Tips and Takeaways for Moderation
Practical Ways to Use Moderation and Self-Care
to Get Out of Your Own Way, and Help Manage Stress
Pick one of the five small thought-starters below that hits home. Walk around with it this week. And when you’re ready, try another.
Start with You.
Are you the bottleneck to your own happiness?
Consider how your beliefs need to change to see self-care as an unselfish expression of love for your family. Getting out of your own way—and making self-care a priority—might include managing your own expectations of yourself, letting go of those that aren’t serving you, and exchanging them for new ones that serve you better.
How?
Self-care isn’t a one-time event—it’s many actions added together.
Commit to doing one small act of self-care each day this week.
(Get 50 Small Self-Care Ideas below!)
Free up Time to Invest in Things That Matter More.
‘I don’t have time!’ is the universal reason for not being able to fit it all in. But the answer isn’t a trite ‘Get up earlier’ or ‘Multitask more.’
Instead, simplify. (No, that’s not another naïve or pro-minimalism platitude!)
How?
In small, doable terms, simplify could mean:
Make it Yours. Find Your Own Way.
In truth, there is no one right way to do most things. The secret is to find your right way. When you define what success looks like to you and give yourself freedom to figure out what works for you, you create a new world of possibilities for yourself.
How?
Start with one little thing you’re struggling with.
Redefine what success means for it. Or try approaching it in a way that works better for you.
Don’t Push for The Sake of Your Checklist.
Keep working on the hard things. Push for your own growth. But be moderate—don’t push it when you know better! Understand why you’re pushing yourself. And invest your energy where it truly counts.
How?
Guard your to-do list.
Instead of over-committing because you’re afraid to say ‘No’ or your own expectations include a ‘should,’ try saying ‘Yes’ only when you can say it with enthusiasm.
(‘No’ gets easier with practice!)
Your Mindset Creates Your Reality.
There isn’t an objective measure of stress. You may not be able to control the stresses in your life, but you do have some choice in how you view it.
Managing your mindset in the face of stress is not an easy one-time choice. It’s something you choose, forget, and must remind yourself to choose again and again.
How?
Next time you feel overwhelmed, take a moment to consider your role in the stress you’re facing. (Sometimes, we’re responsible for letting our problems be giants).
Exclusive Bonus Content:
Moderation Resources Created for Sprouted Life Challenge Subscribers Only
Save-for-Later:
Moderation Tips and Takeaways Sheet
Print or save a one-page version of the 5 Moderation Tips and Takeaways to remind you of the small, doable things you can try to apply moderation and include self-care in your life every day to manage stress, long after you close this browser tab.
50 Small Self-Care Ideas
From the Silver Hills Bakery Team
Self-care is too important to leave as a rare, sometimes-thing. Luckily, any small thing you do for yourself counts—if it feels like self-care to you, it is!
To show how simple it can be to make space for self-care any day of the year, we asked the Silver Hills Bakery team to share their favourite simple ways to put themselves first.
Watch your inbox for your next SMART Sprouted Life Challenge email, A is for Activity, R is for Rest—more tips, takeaways, and bonus resources are on the way!