This feature was written by Studio MSP writers. While some of our advertisers were sourced, no advertiser paid to be included.
Many view this decade as the one that’s paved with lots of firsts: first babies, first serious career moves, first-time home buying. That foundation you so laboriously schemed up, laid out, and built upon in your 20s is paying off—finally! But feeling like you’ve “made it” doesn’t mean that the work stops there. In fact, this life stage presents a lot of potential mounting stressors that can lead to burnout if you’re not mindful of how and where you invest your time, energy, and resources. In a study commissioned by The Office Group, the average worker is most likely to experience career burnout by the age of 32. Undoing the effects of burnout is a whole lot harder than stopping it before it starts, especially in today’s 24/7, always-on culture.
1. Cultivate your ability to self-reflect.
You know the saying that goes, “The unexamined life is not worth living”? Socrates was onto something: Giving yourself time to think (a luxury in these times, we know!) and get to the bottom of your “why” can help you make the necessary life adjustments that will later spare you stress or resentment or heartache. Has it been years since you got a promotion? Start laying out that exit strategy. Does your volunteering gig give you more stress than fulfillment? Maybe you’re being stretched too thin right now. Taking stock of your daily routines may sound cumbersome in theory, but it will pay dividends down the road.
2. Don’t mistake your passion for your identity.
When you feel like you’re finally living out your dream, it’s easy to give it your all, whether that’s late nights on the job or refusing help with your little ones. And because your heart is in the right place, you may not even see the toll it takes on your health—it can be a slow creep. Putting boundaries in place and affording yourself the occasional break—be it mentally, physically, or both—is critical for your stamina, sanity, and productivity. It feels good to help—so let someone do it! Besides, according to Harvard Business Review, helpers know, even if only subconsciously, that giving freely and effectively of themselves has emotional benefits.
3. Learn when to say no.
If you’re locked in reactive mode, it’s easy to just nod your head to each and every request or favor in an effort to avoid conflict or confrontation—Minnesota Nice style. It takes a certain amount of practice (and grit) to say no and not feel bad about it. If you’re worried about the dynamic of the relationship you have with the favor asker, understand that your relationship can handle the no without collapsing. Here’s a no-nonsense template: “I’m afraid I can’t help with that right now. Let’s discuss this another time.”
Hot Topics to Discuss
+ Before the Change of Life. The time to start thinking about how you’ll fare during perimenopause and menopause is in your 30s, because you can really cement the health practices that will carry you through these challenging years, says Northwestern Health Sciences University.
+ Get the girls screened. While 40 remains a good protocol for beginning annual mammogram screening, women are encouraged to have their breast cancer risk assessed around age 30 to determine if they would benefit from early screening.
Don’t-Skip Screenings
- Cervical cancer check every three years, with testing for HPV every five years
- Breast exam every three years; start mammograms at 30 if high risk for breast cancer
- Baseline blood pressure screening, then every two to five years if it’s normal
- Cholesterol test every five years
- Full-body skin cancer screening every year to every three years, depending on risk
- Eye exam every five years
VITAL VACCINATIONS
- Influenza (IIV4, RIV4, or LAIV4) every year
- Tdap
- every 10 years
- Chicken pox (varicella) two doses, if born in 1980 or later and not previously administered
- Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) once, if not previously administered
- COVID-19
- (Pfizer, Moderna) one boostershot at least two months after your last dose or booster.
Worried about the effects of your daily coffee/kombucha/sparkling water intake? Ensure your toothpaste gets two full minutes of sitting on your teeth, which helps to remineralize and rebuild enamel (cavity-causing bacteria remove the minerals from your teeth). Also: Don’t rinse with water!
DYK?
Women ages 35 years and younger were 44 percent more likely to have an ischemic stroke (caused by blocked blood vessels in the brain) than their male counterparts.
Read more from our Annual Health Guide in the November issue of Mpls.St.Paul Magazine or here.
November 22, 2022
9:51 AM