How to wake up like a Boss with Clarissa Burt
What do self-esteem, self-care and sleep have in common?
Well, for once, these are all things that women across the globe struggle with. How many times do you hear another woman or yourself saying: I'm so tired. I'm so overwhelmed. I'm so [fill in the blank]?
As women, we’re used to running around, taking care of everybody and getting things done. Oftentimes, this leads to completely ignoring ourselves and our needs.
Your self-care is crucial, both for you and for people around you because you cannot give from an empty cup.
And your sleep is one of the most important aspects of self-care. If we don't sleep well, that's going to throw our hormones off, it affects our mood, and not to mention that it depletes our energy levels.
Dealing with the Guilt
Many women feel guilt when it comes to taking some time for themselves.
You need to be able to set boundaries without feeling guilty. Boundaries are a very good and very healthy thing. What you're doing is teaching people how you will and will not be treated, how you will and will not be spoken to, and how you want to be respected.
When it comes to self-care, you have to be selfish.
Sounds harsh, I know, but it's all a matter of how you do it.
You have to insist on taking time for yourself and not allow anyone to disturb that time. Have it in your calendar, just like you would have every other thing that you're giving time to.
And doing the weekly grocery shop does NOT count as ME-time or self-care in any way!
Self-care and Self-esteem
A true expert on self-care and self-esteem is Clarissa Burt.
Clarissa is an internationally acclaimed award-winning media personality, producer, director, writer, author, public speaker and former supermodel and winner of the Celebrity Survivor show! Clarissa is also the Founder and CEO of In the Limelight Media, a multimedia platform consisting of TV/video, a podcast and a digital magazine. Her bestselling book entitled The Self-Esteem Regime was in 2021.
She was the first American to present Russian TV at the Kremlin, has had two private audiences with Pope John Paul II honouring her social works and as the Ambassador to the United States, she actively helped African women win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.
As someone who used to work 15-16 hours every day, getting a whole lot done and feeling busy, but not being any more productive, Clarissa decided it was time for some new rules: 12 hours on and 12 hours off.
This doesn't mean she sleeps 12 hours, but those 12 hours are for self-care and self-care only. Taking a bath, reading a book, getting a manicure, having a glass of wine, or catching up with a friend.
Another concept Clarissa practices in her life is living H.I.G.H.: living with honesty, integrity, gratitude, and honour.
According to her, if you're living honestly, you're feeling pretty good about yourself, because there's nothing worse than being dishonest.
Living in integrity is all about your moral principles and your values. Just because other people don't live in integrity doesn't mean you don't have to.
Living in gratitude allows Clarissa to be grateful each day, and each moment and to stay positive and look at the brighter side of life.
And living with honour is who you are when no one else is in the room. Are you still doing the right thing?
Now, when it comes to self-esteem, Clarissa’s key question is: who do you want to be?
Do you want to be happy, healthy, and fulfilled?
Write it all down, and write down how you want to be perceived by the world. And then work toward that. Take action. And improving your sleep might be one of the actions you need to take in order to become a better version of yourself.
Work towards understanding what triggers your emotions and how you can manage them in a healthy way.
Work on self-regulation, and self-awareness, and own your emotional intelligence so that you can release your stress and communicate effectively. Do the work.
And this is where getting a good night's sleep is fundamental. Sleep helps us regulate emotions and prevents us from getting up on the wrong side of the bed.
It's not always going to be easy to do the work on improving yourself. It can be difficult and confrontational when we get very honest with ourselves.
And it's going to confuse you, and it's going to confound you and it's going to hurt.
You need the courage to get through some of these things, but at the end of that tunnel, the light is so big and so bright and so bold and so beautiful, that you’ll realize it was so worth the work that you did.
If you want to learn more about Clarissa or you want to connect with her, make sure you visit her Instagram.
And if you want to learn more about self-esteem and how to build it, make sure you get a copy of her book “The Self-Esteem Regime”.
