Butterflies Revive and Thrive in the New Year

Dear Butterflies,

Now that you have gently packed away the last of the family holiday heirlooms, tenderly boxed up all of your children’s holiday Picasso masterpieces, successful survived all of the return lines, and hopefully, caught some great sales casting a smile on the faces of your family and friends—what are you doing for you? Has the time come for you to renew? Now that the holiday festivities have finally fizzled out and some hint of sanity seems to be returning to your life, I must ask you, “What have you done for you?” Is time for you to rejuvenate?

As I glance at the calendar, I see that we have hit the halfway mark. Yes, we are already two weeks into the New Year-- January, 2010 is soon coming to a close. So I ask you again, “What about you?” I am sure you have made some sort of commitment on the eve of the New Year to revive, revisit, or redo something about yourself that is probably long overdue. Certainly, we all have, but for some reason we still are in desperate need of a boost, especially after dexterously balancing the holiday insanity.

A few days ago, as I started to update my Blackberry, reorganize my files and clean out the past years clutter, I realized, I have forgotten about one person on my list- me. I recognized I need help getting back on track. So I called Dr. Janet Taylor, one of New York’s leading psychiatrist and expert on managing anxiety, corporate stress and health enhancement, for some sound advice on how to eliminate my chaos. Dr. Taylor, a regular on NBC’s Today Show, is on the frontline working to improve women’s health issues, and battling the emotional and economic impact of mental illness.

Dr. Taylor, a mother of four girls and president of her company, Mind Projects Inc., told me that first, I need to learn how to take time for myself. I gather it wasn’t a coincidence that when we spoke on the phone while she was in Florida, Dr. Taylor was spending a few days with friends during a “girlfriend getaway weekend.” Dr. Taylor shared with me that she and her girls stop down and take time out, the same time every year to just have fun. Dr. Taylor’s prescription for me to gain clarity, get centered and reduce the stress was paramount, “Crank up your engine. Be mindful of your previous experiences and reflect on the challenging situations that you may have encountered and overcome. Always remember to think about what you have learned from the experiences and write it down,” she shares.

If you want to learn strategies to have a less-stressful and more joyful New Year please e-mail me at Mzmom@MyWorkButterfly.com, with your questions for Dr. Taylor. Let’s make a pledge to jumpstart our engines, tune-up our spirits and overhaul of our mind and bodies with help from Dr. Taylor.


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