The solution to this may seem simple, but when you are deep in overwhelm, nothing is simple or easy, in fact everything feels hard and even impossible. Your well-being, how you feel about yourself, is determined by your choices and it starts with just one. Well-being requires the daily practice of prioritizing yourself when you feel good, and especially when you don’t.

After Tina spoke out loud how she was feeling, she recognized her first choice was to create a boundary during church. This empowered her to honor her sacred time and empowered her staff to problem-solve for themselves or find another resource. The following Sunday, she left her phone in her car and reported how wonderful it felt not to be distracted and how it helped her initiate other changes as well.

These examples of choices may seem insignificant, but they support you in your well-being.

1. The Choice of Compassion

Be kind to yourself by getting your basic needs met when you eat lunch, ask for help, or put your phone down.

2. The Choice of Presence

Slow down to ground yourself by practicing deep breathing, letting go, or tapping before you start your day, a meeting or a project.

3. The Choice of Recovery

Fill yourself up with something that recharges you by going to bed earlier, taking a walk outside, or digging your hands in the dirt.

Well-Being is not one decision or goal, but a series of choices that support you to show up every day to be your best self. It requires steadfast intention, practice, and commitment because even when you already know what to do, you have to choose to do it—for yourself. The choice is that simple and that hard.

The post The Choice of Well-Being first appeared on Diane Sieg.

Here are a few highlights shared in the keynotes and panel sessions by thought leaders who authentically demonstrated the power of putting people first. Read their perspectives and my questions as they relate to the well-being of you and your team.

1. Rethink Your Mindset

Adam Grant, organizational psychologist and author of several books including, Think Again showed us how to be curious and open to better practices instead of attached to existing “best” practices.

What “best” practice could you rethink to create a better one?

2. Do Less, Better

Anne Morriss, top business leadership coach and author of a number of books including, Move Fast & Fix Things: The Trusted Leader’s Guide to Solving Hard Problems gave us the counterintuitive advice that more is not necessarily better.

What could you do less of to be better?

3. Your Genius Gives You Joy, Energy and Passion

Patrick Lencioni, founder of the Table Group and author of several books, including, The Six Types of Working Genius said a healthy culture requires people to work in their gifts and talents (geniuses).

Are you currently doing work that gives you joy, energy, and passion?

4. Exceptional Care Starts with Exceptional People

Pete November, President and CEO of Ochsner Health, shared their use of ambient listening, phone apps, and virtual nursing and ER visits to streamline patient access and care. He emphasized the importance of prioritizing the culture before the technology.

Do you support yourself and your people to be exceptional?

5. Culture is the Foundation of Everything

Debra Sukin, President and CEO of Texas Children’s Hospital saved her hospital $600 Million and achieved 95% engagement surveys in one year. They always started with their people when they changed virtually everything.

Do you start with your people with every change or transition?

These examples of People First all impact the effectiveness of creating and sustaining a Culture of Well-Being. I would love to hear which one resonates most and how you are putting it into action for you and your people.

The post ACHE Highlights People First! first appeared on Diane Sieg.

Last month I attended Cone Health’s Well-Being Coaching Initiative (WBCI) Kick-Off for cohort #6! Led by the WBCI Master Well-Being Coaches, I proudly witnessed their passion, growth, and application for Self-Leadership in their own lives as they introduced it to the new Champions. I was also reminded how much this work is needed when the Champions shared why they were there.

Here are a few reasons:

• I don’t know how to live my life any more
• I avoid my own health and happiness
• I have lost myself
• I don’t know if I want to be a nurse anymore and I feel so guilty for feeling this way
• I am in a constant state of stress
• I have to learn how to prioritize myself
• I am tired

Sound familiar? Self-Leadership is the foundational skill of your well-being based on the relationship you have with yourself. Practicing self-love supports you to make the best decisions that positively affect your well-being because it helps you feel good about yourself.

You practice self-love when you give yourself:

• Compassion by honoring your capacity instead of shoulding on yourself to give more
• Presence by slowing down instead of speeding up because you can’t keep up
• Recovery by prioritizing your needs instead of questioning them

We have proven statically significant results over and over again that show when you practice self-love to nurture the relationship you have with yourself, you are more engaged, less stressed and less burned out. This is because you feel good about yourself and what you do every day. And everyone benefits, including your patients, family, and most importantly, yourself. Self-love really is the opposite of self-ish.

Loving yourself not only helps you feel better, it actually helps you be more effective. High-performers will be happy to learn Gretchin Rubin, author of several books, including The Happiness Project says, When we give more to ourselves, we can ask more of ourselves.

Do something loving and nurturing for yourself today (and every day) to feel good about yourself and your life. Self-Leadership is Self-Love.

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You already make time for the most important things in your life, and you have to prioritize yourself and your well-being to be one of those important things. If you are new to this concept of Self-Leadership, it may sound selfish but it really is self-full. When you don’t prioritize your well-being, the high cost is your time, energy, and eventually your health and happiness, because you cannot be your best mother, wife, leader, or friend when you are running on empty vs. full.

Prioritizing yourself means making yourself important enough to get to the gym, prepare your lunch (and eat it), go to bed earlier, take a walk, or embrace a creative project because you know what helps you feel good about yourself. You commit to getting it done in your busy life because you know putting your well-being first supports you to show up to be your best when you feel your best.

Whatever you decide your priority is for your well-being this year, commit yourself fully to do it and recommit as often as necessary, daily and sometimes several times a day. Like all practices, when you develop the routine to prioritize yourself, it requires less energy, effort and explanation, because you have created a habit. You get to feel good about yourself for getting to the gym on a cold and dark morning and everyone else feels good because they experience your best self.

Prioritizing yourself is your commitment to be your best which creates your best year.

Happy New Year.

The post Want Your Best Year?
Do This ONE Thing first appeared on Diane Sieg.

“Plans change. People disappoint. Traditions expire. Release your expectations of the holidays and be open to surprise”.

The holidays bring more of everything—parties, shopping, food, and expectations. What you likley need more of is space—to breathe, connect, and remember what is truly most important. Expectations are limiting and focus on the future, often leading to hurt and disappointment.

Releasing your expectations gives you the space and freedom to embrace things as they are instead of how you think they should be. This release also keeps you in the present moment, which is where your peace and joy reside. It feels good, and that’s why presence is the P in the CPR Self-Leadership skills that support your well-being.

What holiday expectation could you release to create more peace and joy?

Here are a few ideas:

• Thinking you must host the holiday just because it’s your turn
• Trying to create the perfect gift, tree, or meal
• Your control over the weather, the price of a cheese plate or how everyone shows up
• Fantasizing your spouse’s work party will be a perfect and magical evening
• Your attachment that everyone has a deeply rich and meaningful experience at the tree-cutting, zoo lights, or gift exchange
• Pretending you still have plenty of time to finish your shopping, wrapping and baking
• Your life-long wait for the pony

Everything can feel harder this time of year. If you find yourself triggered, disappointed, or hurt, release your expectations and open to surprise.

The post Release for the Holiday first appeared on Diane Sieg.

An INC. article revealed studies show Self-Compassion is a wonder drug to help you stop procrastinating, save you money, and be more successful. Yes please! How can you be kind to yourself? Here are 5 compassion practices to try that may surprise you:

1. Prioritize yourself.
You cannot be kind to yourself if you don’t make yourself a priority. Scheduling acts of kindness to have quiet time with your coffee, take a walk, or eat lunch is kind and supports you to be your best.

2. Do less.
Nurses share a common belief they should be able to do more, underestimating the time and energy everything takes. Doing less is kind because it requires you to slow down and be present to decide what is most important instead of doing more.

3. Get outside.
Your well-being sometimes requires a different perspective. Getting outside in almost any weather provides a kind shift, and getting outside of your office, unit, or familiar surroundings can help you get outside of your busy mind.

4. Ask for help.
High functioning and self-reliant nurses often pride themselves on how independently they can operate day to day. Asking for help with things you don’t have to do or enjoy, like cleaning, organizing, or shopping is being kind to yourself.

5. Learn to grow.
Every mistake, poor choice, or misstep you make provides you with the opportunity to grow and learn about yourself. Ruminating about it is not kind or productive but making the decision to do it differently next time, is.

Your well-being begins with how kind you are willing to be to yourself. There are more ways to practice self-compassion, and once you start making the space and time for them, you will determine your favorites. Compassion is kind, and when you start with yourself, everyone in your life benefits.

The post 5 Surprising Compassion Practices for Your Well-Being first appeared on Diane Sieg.

We (my good friend and myself) prepared ourselves physically and emotionally that there would be rain; it would stop; there would be more rain. Without attachment to the weather, we were determined to have the full experience of hiking and sleeping in the beautiful Colorado Rockies, as two strong and self-sufficient women–who hadn’t backpacked in over 20 years!

The mindset of not expecting the perfect experience gave us the perfect experience. We did not worry, predict or focus on things that were out of our control, like the quickly changing weather in the mountains. We were completely present, making decisions according to how we felt in order to get our basic needs met with food, water and shelter.

What a gift it is to completely immerse yourself in the presence of nature without the noise of the world to keep you busy and running as fast as you can to keep up. After slowing down our movement (we still clocked over 20 miles in 3 days) and mindset, the emails, to-do lists, and anxiety that goes with them fell away. The present moment gives you the important perspective of what matters most with a true sense of well-being.

This 3-day back-packing adventure turned out to be a highlight of my summer! Not because of perfect weather, sleep, or food, but because I learned a lot about myself, feeling more empowered, grounded, and grateful for creating and completing an adventure despite some adversity.

Adventure involves something a little scary before you do it and exhilarating (or at least satisfying) afterward. Adventure keeps you vital and awake and alive because it gives you a confidence that contributes to your well-being.

You don’t have to backpack in the rain for 3 days, but what adventure could you create to slow you down, get grounded, and feel good about yourself?

The post An Adventure in Well-Being first appeared on Diane Sieg.

Hoarding your PTO is actually a selfish act because it does not contribute to your well-being. When you don’t make time for yourself, you are bound to feel tired, burdened and resentful of others who do, even if you don’t realize it. When you act in a self-full way, and take a vacation to fill yourself up, everyone wins because when you feel better, you show up better as a wife, mom, nurse, friend and human!

A large part of your overall well-being is determined by practicing recovery, filling yourself up with things that bring you joy every day. Your vacation is an expansion of this, by leaving your daily routines, responsibilities, and requests for an extended period of time. Whether you choose to go to the mountains, Disneyland, or the beach, it is intentional time you create for yourself that restores and renews you because you are in your happy place.

The other thing you gain from using your PTO, no matter how you spend it, is PERSPECTIVE. Taking time away provides the space and distance to give you a different viewpoint of yourself and your life. You return a little lighter and more grateful, with a renewed hope and promise it is all possible again. This contributes to your well-being.

Make the decision today to use your PTO instead of hoarding it, especially if you think you don’t have time.

The post STOP Hoarding Your PTO! first appeared on Diane Sieg.

The 2nd yearly offsite retreat for the Well-Being Coaches at Cone Health offered the opportunity for these nurses to return to their own well-being. The sacred day was all about them creating the space to connect, engage, and restore themselves through various activities including silence in the woods, creative exercises, yoga practice, and group sharing.

Even though I meet with these coaches every month and know them very well, spending the day with them allowed me to witness their professional and personal growth firsthand. They shared achieving significant weight loss, completing a Masters program, applying for higher level positions, and practicing healthier boundaries personally and professionally. This was all possible because they prioritized themselves by practicing Self-Leadership.

Here are a few of their reflections for the day, which beautifully illustrate why we all need to retreat to return.

• The silent walk was such a beautiful time to connect with myself! I have never given myself the time for space to allow for such inward focus.

• I am leaving today calm, centered, peaceful and even more certain that THIS is the right work for our nursing culture.

• Today was glorious. My heart, soul, and brain needed this time to reset, refuel, reconnect.

• This day provided being present with myself.. nature.. walking.. reflecting.. yoga.. encouragement, honest transparent conversations…these are foundational for myself and the team.

• As I reflect on the experiences, emotions, and insights gathered throughout the day, I find myself feeling more grounded, more open-hearted, and deeply grateful for the space that was created to simply be.

• I felt lighter, not because all my challenges had vanished, but because I had taken the time to acknowledge them.

• In a world that often rewards busyness and overlooks stillness, today was a radical act of self-love and reminded me that wellbeing is not a destination, but a way of living—a choice to come back to again and again, even in small ways.

• Today I committed to truly putting myself before others, focusing on what I say I’m going to do, and doing it. Keeping my word to someone else is not more important than keeping my word to myself. 

• I realize I’m more powerful now than I ever have been thanks to this program and the work I’ve done for myself, on myself!

• In the end, today’s retreat was not just a retreat from life, but a return to it—more centered, more open, and more aligned with what truly matters.

While a full day is ideal, you can create your own sacred space to retreat, even for an hour with nature, art, movement, or anything that fills you up and calms you down. Experiment with this and let me know if it helps you return to yourself.

The post Retreat to Return first appeared on Diane Sieg.

In her book, Mindset, Carol Dweck, renown psychologist and bestselling author, differentiates two types of mindsets. Growth Mindset focuses on improving yourself with the ability to learn and grow from your mistakes, while a Fixed Mindset focuses on proving yourself and giving up or feeling bad when you make a mistake, avoiding things with risk. Self-Leadership, the foundation of the Well-Being Coaching Initiative focuses on growing and learning about yourself, requiring a Growth Mindset.

The Growth mindset influences how you view yourself and your abilities, supporting you to persevere obstacles by being willing to practice vs having to be perfect. It fosters healthy and supportive relationships by supporting you to ask for help. The Growth Mindset helps you make better decisions to positively affect your overall well-being by being aware of when you are stuck and open to doing things differently.

After Mary’s team questioned her about different options and offered to fully support the site visit, her whole demeanor in her face and body changed. Mary said she felt lighter because she could see a way to improve her situation by doing something different. With the site visit unknown, she scheduled her much needed time off, knowing this decision was even more important than the initial one she was so anxious about making. She practiced a Growth Mindset.

We are all somewhere on the continuum having a Fixed Mindset in certain situations. The beauty of a Growth Mindset is it is a skill you can learn and develop over a lifetime to positively affect your health, relationships, work and everything else. Start today by asking one critical question about something you may be struggling with:

“What can I learn from this?”

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