Taking time to recharge

As any mother or parent would tell you, it’s hard to find your own time to recharge with kids. Between their sports, school, and schedules, we put ourselves all on the back burner. Being a mother of 7 kids is extremely rewarding for me, and although I may have some help from time to time, my kids rely heavily on me. 

On top of being a mom, working full time and focusing on my summit goals takes a lot of my extra free time. That being said, I still find even the smallest amount of time for me. I look at my time to recharge as needing to charge myself as I would my tech devices or my phone. If I don’t charge them, I cannot use them, and I attribute the same mentality to my mind, body, and soul as well. Therefore, if someone like me can carve out a small amount of time for me to recharge my batteries, you should be able to do so too. 

You may be asking at this point in the post, honestly, how exactly does she have the time to recharge her batteries?! First and foremost, I take not only just small moments to recharge, but I also carve it out into my daily schedule. On an everyday level, one thing I do is I make sure I get up at least 30 or so minutes before the kids so that I take the time for myself to find peace within a busy schedule. I also make sure that I end my day with reflection on the day’s events and express gratitude and appreciation for the good and bad parts of the day. 

On a more grand level, recharging after a summit adventure is almost essential to regain the yin/yang balance back into me. For example, after my trips to K2 and Broad Peak, I needed to regain my purpose and have a little peace before returning home after my travels. Upon my return from the K2 trip, I decided that since my kids were all still at camp for the week, I ended my flight in LA before returning to SLC. I took some much needed refresh and recharged time for myself. I decided to stay for an extra day, and I booked a hotel in Santa Monica to decompress from that trip. I took this time to recharge myself by spending time at the beach, sleeping in, journaling, chatting with my mom uninterrupted. Additionally, I also got a chance to indulge in some local food and some minor retail therapy. It was much needed, and honestly, sometimes you need to treat yourself to recharge your internal battery! 

Once I got back home, I did not stop carving out little bits of time for myself there. I made sure to break down all my tasks upon my return into the week rather than going all-out and stretching myself too thin. I did not need to go through all of my mail or promptly check and respond to emails; instead, I chose to throughout the week. Remember the retreat I did in Santa Monica? Well, I decided that week I returned from K2 to factor in some time for yoga and breathing work, plus I also booked a professional blowout at the salon for myself after my trip. 

Taking your time to recharge your internal batteries, such as your mind, body, and soul, is not selfish. If anything, it allows you to regain focus on the crucial things in your life that do matter the most. If we don’t take time to recharge them, we are doing no favors ourselves and our work, family, and friends. We all get busy but burning the candle at both ends leads to burnout. Make time always to recharge your batteries, and whether it’s just minutes a day or a day or two, recharging should be vital in keeping balance in your busy life.