Tell me if this sounds like you.

You work hard. You have a lot going on. You juggle a few different roles at work. You wear a few different hats at home. You may even belong to a volunteer organization or have other responsibilities in your community.

All this is to say you have a pretty packed calendar. It doesn’t feel like there’s a ton of time to flop on the couch and rest like you know you probably should. So you just go, go, go. And every now and then, you get sick or experience burnout that forces you to stop. Recover. And then get back into it.

Such is the pace of modern life for so many of us. We carry so much pressure, yet we’re moving so fast we don’t always feel the true weight of it. We don’t appreciate how much our mental—and physical—health is suffering. (Did you know that in the U.S., anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental illness?)

But you have to take care of yourself; ideally without crashing to a complete halt. This is possible with a check-in I recommend doing each and every day.

It all starts with one simple question

Every single day, I want you to ask yourself, “How am I feeling today?” Whether in the morning, on your way to work or at lunch, check in with yourself in an open and honest way.

• Today, I’m feeling tired

• Today, I’m feeling scared

• Today, I’m feeling angry

This simple act is so powerful because we’re often consumed with how everyone else is doing, from our kids to our partners, bosses and friends. We never give ourselves a chance to look inward. So, however we feel—whether it’s tired, scared, angry or some other emotion—affects our actions, and we don’t always know why.

Instead, when we check in with ourselves, we give ourselves the gift of awareness. And as I say time and time again, awareness is the first step.

Once we’re aware, we can ask the vital follow-up question, “What do I need right now?”

• I feel tired, and I need an early night in.

• I feel scared, and I need a hug.

• I feel angry, and I need to take a long walk.

Then, you can give yourself what you need to make today a better day.

When you don’t address how you’re feeling, you end up perpetuating it. And you can’t address it if you don’t know what it is. So be honest with yourself, feel how you feel and do something about it. You have to be the one to take care of yourself. You have to be the one to prioritize yourself.

Popular culture only makes it worse. We’re taught to numb and suppress. Drink this, watch that.

Instead, ask yourself how you’re doing and what you need. And hey, if checking in with yourself feels difficult right now, that’s okay, too. There’s no perfect way to do this. Just acknowledging that you don’t know how you feel right now is still a way of showing up for yourself. 

You’re never going to be able to fix everything (and you can read more about releasing what’s outside of your control here). But you’ll start getting what you need. And things will stop being so overwhelming.

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author
Host of the On Purpose Podcast
Creator of the Jay Shetty Certification School