Albuquerque Public Schools
December 2024 Employee Wellness Newsletter
Self-sacrifice and sacred moments, holiday checklist reminders, time to thrive in 2025! And more wellness trends in the news.
Wellness Wire: Self-Sacrifice & Sacred Moments
I can remember more holiday seasons than not in my adult, parenting life careening into Christmas and the holiday season being sick as a dog. Over-scheduled, over-extended, under-nourished yet sugared-up, sleep-deprived, stressed and sick. I abandoned my health for pre-dawn and post-sunset work hours to volunteer and be part of my kids' extra-curricular activities (they seem to get extra - extracurricular this time of year!).
I think most of us view self-sacrifice as a good thing. It aligns with altruism. The giving of our time and resources for a cause greater than our self-interests. Knowing that we are supporting a greater good contributes to our intellectual, spiritual, social, and emotional well-being.
A basic definition of self-sacrifice is "the giving up of one's own interests or wishes in order to help others or advance a cause."
So, yeah - it's good - until it's not.
When it feels more like an obligation than joyful giving, when it causes more feelings of frustration and under-appreciation, when it leads to illness, burnout, and relationship conflict, then sacrifice becomes selflessness gone awry.
Self-sacrifice isn’t altruistic when it comes at the expense of our physical, emotional, and mental health. When we forfeit sleep, nutrition, time with family, and exercise, then our needs are left languishing in an unfair imbalance of selflessness.
I define the downside of self-sacrifice as literally the sacrifice of one's mental, emotional, and physical 'self'. In some circumstances, people can slide into "pathological altruism".
The idea of sacrifice is practically embedded in the holiday season and that is by no means a negative thing. But what I've witnessed during all seasons of the year, is this expectation that we have to forfeit our health and well-being on the altar of work, relationships, commitments, and competing priorities. We do this because we may think that is the expectation or we feel like we're "Doing the right thing."
Some of us might have the idea that putting in overtime is what is expected. Long days with no boundaries. And sometimes, yes, overtime is required for our careers and growth. There are definitely seasons when we have to put in more time and effort to expand as humans and reach individual or collective goals.
Some of us might be in life situations where the work and home responsibilities are simply overwhelming with elements beyond our control. Caregiving, busy kids, and activities on top of work mean we sometimes sacrifice our time for someone else. That is a normal part of parenting and caregiving.
It’s natural to give to our children and work hard to advance our profession, to volunteer, and there is always compromise in healthy personal relationships. But, it doesn't have to mean abandoning our health in the process.
It is not written anywhere - in any contract - that we owe our mental, emotional, and physical well-being to an organization or someone else's priorities. So stop sacrificing it.
There can be a balance between self-sacrifice and self-care. So my encouragement to you is to think of creating sacred moments for self-care because your well-being is sacred. It is something to cherish, nourish, and treasure.
Those small, intentional moments can make a big difference in our overall well-being. Whether it's a few minutes of mindfulness, savoring our morning coffee, or taking a brief walk, these practices can help center and rejuvenate us. Sacred moments are times that we gift ourselves every day so that we fill our cups through the process of pouring out in our personal and professional lives.
The positive, well-managed side of self-sacrifice is only healthy when we intentionally infuse sacred moments of wellness daily.
If you're struggling with finding harmony between self-sacrifice and sacred moments, take a look at this graphic below. Choose one or two things to focus on shifting. If you're overwhelmed and don't know where to start, try contacting the APS EAP counselors for free, confidential counseling. APS also offers free health coaching for all employees which is another great place to start on simple, lifestyle goals.
Thrive in 2025 - Reclaiming Health & Harmony
2025 is going to be the year we finally do it! Yep. It's time to put our foot down and say "No more!"
No more failed "resolutions". No more disappointment. No more "I wish I woulda - shoulda - coulda..." It's time to take back what we've lost in this busy, disconnected, over-processed world.
It's time to reclaim our health and experience harmony. It's time to thrive in 2025!
We're going to do it together. This is a yearlong focused program with the flexibility to participate in a variety of activity challenges, nutrition resets, education, short videos, and wellness journeys.
- The year is structured into four quarters for the wellsprings of "energy management".
- Activities and challenges will center around physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being.
- Everything is hosted on the Wellness at Work well-being platform and information will be duplicated on the APS Employee Wellness event calendar.
Simple steps to participate:
- If you haven't already done so, join the Wellness at Work, wellness incentive platform.
- Join the APS Employee Wellness "group". (Click "social" and browse "groups", find APS Employee Wellness group, and join to receive invitations to nutrition reset activities, "sugar-free me" cleanse, kitchen-clean up, movement challenges, stress and burnout-busting activities, and so much more!)
- Under "Social" click "Events Calendar". Browse and read the information on a daily or weekly basis. All monthly and quarterly information will be pre-loaded starting January 1, 2025. Challenges start Jan. 6, 2025.
- Earn wellness incentive points for rewards and ongoing gift card prizes for participation throughout the year! (Gift card prizes are in addition to your wellness incentive point rewards.)
- To join challenges and be included for additional raffle prizes please join the "APS Employee Wellness Group" on the Wellness at Work platform. This step ensures you get invitations to join challenges when they come up. You can pick and choose what to participate in throughout the year.
If you have any questions, please contact Becky MacGregor at employee.wellness@aps.edu.
Holiday Checklist Reminders!
The to-do list can get long this time of year but a few on the graphic above have a 'use it or lose it' clause and we hate for you to miss out on hard-earned wellness incentive points or Healthcare Flexible Spending Account (FSA) funds.
- If you participate in the Wellness Incentive Program ($150 in rewards!) via the Wellness at Work/Virgin Pulse platform (which is changing to Personify Health) you must redeem points by 7:00 pm December 31. No exceptions. January 1 starts a brand new year with more opportunities to earn awesome rewards.
- Presbyterian Health Plan/Fitness Pass members must re-enroll in the Fitness Pass in December if they want their gym membership to stay active on January 1. You don't want to miss out on that post-holiday crowded gym rush!
- For employees participating in the Health Care or Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA), the plan year runs through December 31. Participants have a grace period until March 15, 2025, to spend 2024 contributions and submit receipts for reimbursement from eligible expenses. If you find you have an overage and don't anticipate extra healthcare bills, ASIFlex has a great online store with thousands of surprising products including joint and muscle pain management, baby care, home health, and other items.
- Schedule annual preventive health visits because we want you safe and healthy!! Prevention goes a long way for disease prevention and lower costs down the road.
- Take care of yourself and enjoy the season! Slow down, sip hot cocoa, watch fun movies, cuddle with loved ones (pets included), and enjoy!
Did you know?
APS offers two integrated solutions to help you with holistic well-being, illness, weight loss, and injury.
Livongo - Livongo is an integrated program for diabetes, high blood pressure, pre-diabetes, and weight loss. Livongo offers free health coaching and wrap-around, integrated mental health services. Join by visiting www.livongo.com/aps *This program is open to all eligible employees and dependents covered under APS Benefits.
Hinge Health - Whether you have a chronic, nagging injury, have loss of strength or have mobility issues Hinge Health offers virtual physical and exercise therapy with free, wrap-around health coaching support. Learn more and register for the program. *Hinge Health is available at no cost to employees covered under the APS Benefits plans and eligible dependents.
Wellness Trends In The News
|
