几周前，我需要休息一下. 我需要点时间活动活动筋骨, 看到太阳, and get out from behind my computer and the furious flurry of deadlines and to-do lists. 我筋疲力尽, 难以集中注意力, and my productivity was getting slower and slower by the second. 幸运的是, 我可以出去吃个午饭, so I booked it over to the Nelson Atkins to get a new perspective. 把它安排在我的午餐时间, 实际上我只在那里待了大约15分钟, but it was enough to give myself just a bit of space and a refresh for the rest of the workday, and admission to the Nelson Atkins is free for their normal exhibits, 所以我的钱包也很省心. 谢谢，纳尔逊·阿特金斯博物馆! 

While I was there, I took a moment to observe one of Monet’s Water Lillies paintings. the environment to host the painting is designed to offer an idea of what it would have been like for Monet to actually paint. The lighting changes to reflect the different positions of the sun throughout the day, 而且, the sound changes from morning bird songs all the way to evening crickets. It’s a really gorgeous and moving experience wrapped up in 10 minutes of time. And something magical happened while I was there taking it in. With the change in the lighting, there was also a significant change in the painting. From rosey hues in dawn to beautiful and vibrant greens of day, 然后进入傍晚的紫色和深蓝色, 这一切都在这10分钟内完成. 我一般是不会注意到的. In a museum, I more often take a look at the art, briefly skim the caption and move on. Had I done the same here, I would have missed the transformation completely. 它并不是唯一要转变的东西.

当我坐在那里, 我静静地观察着, focusing only on the art and not on my email and endless todos. 我深深地吸了一口气, 我能感觉到紧张在减轻, 更好的是, 我脑子没那么模糊了. I could feel that I was holding a little less stress in my body and I could sense a bit more of a spring in my step and energy to move through the rest of the workday. 现在, that’s not to say that my to-do list got any shorter in that time nor that my email inbox got any emptier. 我还有很多事要做, but how I felt about it shifted and my focus and energy were a bit better.

In speaking with one of my friends that is a therapist by trade, 他提到这种现象并不罕见. Even 5 minutes of getting outside or taking a break in some way can be critical for our focus and 精神 health. He shared a concept of us needing to fill four different buckets – Mental, 物理, 情感, 和精神. 这样做，我们能够更好地保持我们的能量. This is consistent with a book titled The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr, EdD – where the author shares that managing energy is as important as managing time.

这四个桶用R表示. Michael and updated by Elizabeth Pratt in Psych Central as the following:

物理 self care relates to eating healthy, getting good sleep, and exercising. 身体自我和精神自我是相互联系的. When you physically feel good, your 精神 health is increased. 反之亦然. When you are not caring for your physical self, your 精神 health is affected. Examples of physical self care includes eating fresh fruit and vegetables, 必要时小睡一会儿, 通过锻炼让你的身体运动起来.

情感 self care is practicing values that are near and dear to your heart. This includes examining your emotions and sorting through how you feel about different scenarios that occur throughout your life. This can be done by identifying how you are feeling and then moving forward in a positive way that brings closure and peace. 其中包括宽恕和仁慈.

Social self care encompasses all types of social supports. 它涉及到你生活中所有的关系. 它可以帮助扩大或缩小关系. One of the biggest types of social self care is setting boundaries with the people around you. Boundaries are so important because they allow you to set the expectations of how you would like to be treated by others. Other types of social self care include spending time with friends and family and asking for help when needed.

最后一种自我照顾是精神上的自我照顾. This type of self care allows you to connect with yourself on a deep and meaningful level. This can include taking time to practice religion or practicing meditation and mindfulness exercises. Spiritual self care can also include connecting with nature through walks and hikes. 

The key point here is that so often we treat self-care as a thing to fit in after we have scheduled and accomplished all of our to-dos, 但我们不能从空桶里施舍, and there are major physical and 精神 health consequences if we do. And these consequences hit our historically excluded and most marginalized community members the hardest.

But there is a lot to be gained in slowing down and filling our buckets, 包括更好的身体素质, 精神, 情感健康和幸福. 当我们压力较小的时候, we make better decisions and are more able to mitigate the prevalence and impact of bias in our daily practice. In slowing down we are better able to approach with curiosity instead of defense. Slowing down and self-care can also improve our relationships, retention, and performance.

所以我问你，你能做些什么来填满你的桶? 另外, what can you do within your sphere of influence – whether it be in a classroom, 学生组织, or office – to advocate for prioritizing self-care as part of our culture of care at UMKC? 而自我照顾感觉像是个人责任, organizational prioritization can make it far more accessible on an individual level.