PHASE #1 → Honoring … 1 Creating Space For Awareness (The First Step To Breaking Free From Stress & Overwhelm!)

The first step to breaking free from stress and overwhelm …

If you have had enough and are ready to break the cycle of stress and overwhelm, the first step is to cultivate awareness both in your inner and outer world around you. That is why Honoring is the first and most essential phase of my H.E.A.R.T.S. Method.

What exactly is Honoring?

Honoring is about observing your inner and outer world with curiosity and self-compassion. It is taking a moment to notice how the activities and responsibilities in your life reflect on your emotional and physical well-being.

Why is Honoring so important?

Before you make any meaningful change in your life, you must honestly look at where you are right now. Honoring encourages you to examine your everyday behaviors and see how they contribute to the stress and overwhelm you experience. You might wonder, “Do I need to eliminate activities to feel more balanced?” Not necessarily. Dealing with stress is not about eliminating all the things that cause you stress; on the contrary, mindfully dealing with stress is about creating space for you to rebalance. As you start honoring yourself, you will build this space for yourself. You will naturally identify activities that drain your energy and learn to delegate or let go of them when necessary. Honoring is not about giving up your responsibilities or taking a “relax all day” approach. Honoring is about finding balance by integrating self-nurturing activities into your day to replenish yourself while meeting your responsibilities.

How Can You Start Practicing Honoring On Your Busy Day?

Honoring does not have to be complicated. You are probably already doing part of it. For example, when you look at your agenda each day, you likely already focus on all the tasks you must complete at work and at home.

But, here is the part that is often missing:

1. You may not be taking the time to acknowledge all the hard work you have completed. Instead, you continue to focus on the tasks you did not complete.

2. You may not know how to create space in your busy day to relax and recharge. Do not worry. In the upcoming chapters, you will learn about easy mindfulness practices that will help you relax and replenish.

By building awareness of how you are utilizing your time and energy, with curiosity and self-compassion, you will shift toward a more balanced lifestyle.

Give yourself permission to recognize the incredible effort you put into everything you do and honor your needs with kindness.

What Happens When You Embrace Honoring?

As you practice Honoring, you will ...