When my Functional Medicine provider made some suggestions based on the results of my female hormone and cortisol tests I was a bit overwhelmed. Give up caffeine?! But I LOVE coffee. Workout in the mornings??? But that's my study time and my downtime.
How did I tackle this? I leaned on my #1 character strength- Love of Learning.
What are Character Strengths?
"Character Strengths are the positive parts of your personality that impact how you think, feel and behave. Scientists have identified 24 character strengths that you have the capacity to express. By taking the VIA Survey you will discover your unique character strengths profile. Knowing and applying your highest character strengths is the key to you being your best self.When you know your best character traits, you can improve your life and thrive." Research shows that using your character strengths can help you:
Improve your relationships, Enhance health and overall wellbeing, Buffer against, manage and overcome problems
It has been proven that difficult tasks become easier if you use your signature strengths, or top 5 strengths, to approach the challenge. Love of Learning is my #1 strength and this should be of no surprise to anyone that knows me. My daughter always says to me "Mom, when are you going to read a book with characters?" LOL! I am always reading books to further my knowledge vs reading fiction or "just for fun" books as my daughter calls them.
So.... when I realized I had some hormone imbalances I immediately went to my love of learning. I reached out in my FMCA facebook group and asked who the go-to experts in hormone health are. I ordered The Hormone Cure book by Sara Gottfried, and downloaded her Brain Body Diet book on Kindle(bonus.. it was being offered for FREE the day I downloaded it!). Then I got to reading, or skimming, or reviewing, however you want to say it. Because, let me tell you this hormone stuff is COMPLICATED! I love a good challenge, but OMG this is some deep stuff. It verifies that EVERYTHING is tied to hormones. Headaches, anxiety, weigh gain, low libido, muscle mass, sleep and on and on and on. It's a bit overwhelming even for me, someone who lives and breaths this Functional Medicine stuff.
So, enter another one of my character strengths.. Perseverance. This is just out of the top 5, but is in the top 10 and I tend to lean on it a lot. I don't quit. I don't give up. It may take me a while to do something and I might have to find 3 different routes to get there but I won't stop.
To update you on my actual progress with this new routine:
Week 2 of no caffeine was actually harder than week 1. Why? I have no clue TBH! I was SUPER exhausted during week 1, and am dealing with an eczema flare up in week 2 but energy is a little better. I never thought that caffeine really "worked" for me, that my energy wasn't impacted one way or another, but I am thinking I was wrong. I didn't realize how much I relied on caffeine to give me that little energy boost that I was lacking.
Working out in the mornings sucks. There, I said it. Kudos to the Rooster Crew at Burn Bootcamp because you ladies are my heroes. I am not as motivated or strong in the mornings, but I am getting it done and at the end of a long work day I am grateful that I don't have a workout ahead of me.
Back to the drawing board with the eczema flare ups... more on that in another post.
Take the Character Strengths survey to see what your top strengths are then reach out, I would love to hear how you use YOUR signature strengths every day!
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