About six weeks ago, Micky Jones’ book, “Keep the Fires Burning – Conquering stress and burnout as a Mother-Baby Professional”, made its way into my hands, and quickly, her words made their way into my heart.

Stress is an interesting creature. It can burn you up slowly, over years and years, or it can get you in an instant.

In my case, stress has burned through me at a slow pace for a number of years. I’m a huge advocate and practitioner of self-care, and I have a number of practices in my toolkit. However, physical exercise was not a tool I actively used.

One subtitle in “Keep the Fires Burning” changed everything for me – “Move Your Body – Sweat is Your Body Crying Happy Tears!”

We each have 24 hours in a day, in which we have to fit in eating, sleeping, exercise, working in and on our business, taking care of our family, and the other responsibilities we have in our lives. In every moment we have choices – staying present in the moment and working mindfully based on our values and goals, or tending to the fires that have to be put out throughout the day.

Do your days run you? Do you feel like you spend a lot of your time reacting to what’s going on around you right now than deliberately planning your day? Are you ready to slow down and take control of your schedule? Are you ready to do more meaningful activities and live more consciously?