Fall is here and we seem to be rushing towards the holiday season. As we head towards November I have been reflecting on all the changes in my life. I think it all started last Black Friday. I used to work in a retail clothing store. I was a supervisor and the hours and schedules were always crazy. The stress was crazy, there were always impossible goals to try to meet. The week of Thanksgiving had arrived and I was as usual "The Closing Manager On Duty." I didn't mind closing the store, but the one thing lacking in my store was a schedule that allowed the night time manager to take breaks or lunches. Looking back I never thought much of how wrong this really was. I was so loyal to this store and the people that I worked with that I never questioned or thought that things were not right. I am the type of person that doesn't think much of caring for themselves and tends to care too much for others. That week I did not get breaks or lunches it was just too busy, and I did not take care of myself. I ate the standard stressed out supervisor food...chips, soda, and energy bars..Thanksgiving came and I was scheduled to work 4pm to 12 am and then was scheduled to be back Black Friday at 8:30 am. I never got a break or lunch Thanksgiving night, (oh I was sent for a break, but a register broke and I had to go fix it. I remember getting everyone else their breaks and lunches, even being yelled at for not getting certain people their breaks on time, which was actually not my fault.) I remember telling my supervisor that I would like to come in a bit later, that having worked so many late night shifts I did not think I would do well coming in early the next day. My supervisor didn't seem to get it and said be in at 8:30am. I got home about 12:30 am crawled into bed, and when the alarm went off in the morning wished that I could sleep longer. I arrived at work at 8:30 am and soon after began to feel odd... I felt like I was a human ice pop, I was so cold that I was shivering and people talking to me made absolutely no sense...I remember saying over the radio that I felt funny, and needed to go have a break...A customer was talking to me about something and I just could not understand what they wanted. I remember walking by another employee and she said you are probably really dehydrated. One of the supervisors put me in a wheel chair and they took me to the emergency room. It took an IV of fluid and lots of warm blankets to make me feel better, and I ended up staying home most of the weekend. I was so tired and drained. The only thing the doctors could say was that I was severely dehydrated. That weekend I vowed I would find a new job before Thanksgiving. I promised myself I would not work another Black Friday at the store that I was at. It was also the beginning of my promise to take care of myself.
My first step to a Healthy me was to drink water. I left soda, juice and other drinks behind and only drink water. I carried a water bottle with me. At first I thought drinking one 8 oz bottle of water was a lot of water. I'm now drinking 9 glasses of water a day. I recently bought this "Fit Happens" journal at Target. I plan to start using it next month. For some reason I want to start at the beginning of the month. I love it though because it doesn't just focus on physical fitness, it focuses on you as an entire being, physical, mental and spiritual.
My next step and promise to myself was to find a new job. This process actually began last November. I believe that what you think and put out to "The Universe" or "God" is what will happen to you. My first step was thinking and telling people that I was looking for a new job. I kept thinking that I wanted to get a new job, and told friends this. Many of my co-workers said "Don't leave, we love you here" But I kept thinking of my Black Friday Black Out and reminding myself that I needed to leave. Some of my good friends that I worked with did help me though. One even helped me to get my resume together and consistently asked me if I'd applied for new jobs. As much as I wanted to leave, one thing that kept me working for this store was that I knew I was helping others. The great thing though is "God and The Universe" always know what is better for you, they made sure I left. The other great help was my Doctor who wrote me a prescription to get a new job, and on it was the number of an employment agency. He was tired of me coming in due to work anxiety. I think at some point I got tired of it too.
This past spring as I began working with LDS Employment services and searching for a new job, I also came across some great books. One of my favorites was the "MOJO" book. MOJO was my word at my previous job, It was my magic and it was cool to find it's definition..I realized I had Lost my positive spirit at the retail job I was at, my MOJO and Magic were gone. I realized that my health and wellness were more important than a job. This book helped me begin to reevaluate my life and look at what brought me joy. Everyday I evaluate my life and think does this make me happy or do I need to move on. On March 11th I walked out of my old job and never walked back. (There is more to the walking out story but that story will be part of my retail memory blogs that I'm slowly working on putting together.) On the eleventh of every month I celebrate my leaving. I went to a job fair the next week and had a bunch of interviews lined up, and with in a week of leaving my old job I had a new job. It was amazing, I had really hoped to take the whole spring and summer off and just focus on me. But a good new job just happened to fall into my life.
Over the past few months I have slowly been working on a healthier me...Body, Mind and Spirit. I call it
"My Slow Steps To A Healthy Me" and I hope soon to share things I have been learning with you. One of my favorite magazines to read is "Dr. OZ THE GOOD LIFE" These magazines are geared towards making small changes in your life. I'm not a cold turkey type of person, every change I make is small. This magazine fits right in with how I want to change.
One small change I'm trying to make is to eat healthier snacks. I really like this book, it has a lot of good information on Raw foods and how they are healthy for you. Do I still eat cookies, cakes, and sugar treats..Yes..but am I eating more fruits, and vegetable yes. I hope to share some of my "Foodie" adventures with you. I'm a pretty picky eater, so trying new foods is hard.
I'm also searching for the right exercises to do. Now that I don't walk nine miles a day, like I did at my old job, I need to figure out how to keep my body healthy. So as I check out different work out routines I'll let you know what I think.. So far on this journey I have found some nice stretching routines that I like.
I have also found my perfect life organizer...It is a weekly planner that has a coloring page for each week. I plan out my life, write the things that happen, and spend time relaxing by coloring. This helps in my spiritual walk as coloring is a form of meditation. I often sit and listen to a Conference talk and color. Taking care of your whole self is so important. I'm glad that I experienced my "Black Friday Black Out" It was the beginning of a whole new life for me. I'm thankful for those people who were there for me during this change in my life, the ones who supported me. I'm thankful for the doors that closed and the doors that opened. As the weeks go on I hope to blog more and share the new things I'm learning and to also share my "Retail Memories". I have a lot of good stories to tell from the last 5 years. And I'm collecting new stories at my new job. I actually carry a book around and write stuff down. All the people who work with me find it entertaining, they all come to me and say "Kimberly I have a story for your book....."
Have a great day.
G.G.
