Is It Time To #LetGo?

In 40 years will we really care who had the most Instagram likes or worked the longest hours?

The Sanctuary Spa have done some serious research - and we really need to listen. They polled 1,067 women as part of the Sanctuary Spa #LETGO campaign to reveal some scary facts about our wellbeing. Watch their brilliant new campaign video below:

Here are the stats:

• 4 out of 10 women (over 12million) feel that they are about to burn out
• Nearly half of all women are feeling ‘moderately or extremely’ stressed at the moment (around 15million women)
• 6/10 women believe they aren’t getting enough time out for themselves
• 62% of women feel that their lack of me time holds them back in life
• 88% of women believe that brands and media put too much pressure on them to be the perfect woman
• 89% of women are having less than the recommended 20 hours a week of ‘time out for yourself’
• 50% of women are having less than 5 hours a week of ‘time out for yourself’
• 1/3 of women (nearly 10 million) feel they do not have their work-life balance right
• 80 per cent of women say they put too much pressure on themselves to be perfect even though they accomplish an average of 26 tasks a day
• 80 per cent of women don’t feel good enough, only 1 in 5 always feel like they are good enough
• The biggest source of pressure on women is themselves - almost three quarters (72 per cent) of women revealed that this pressure is completely down to them

That's some serious pressure. So with that in mind, Life Strategist for Sanctuary Spa #LetGo campaign, Jenni Trent-Hughes has created seven amazing ways to #LetGo “From the beginning of time women have been multi-tasking but in the 21st Century we have become overly attached to our busyness; busy and stressed have somehow become inextricably linked with success.In order to be really successful we need to #LetGo of these antiquated attitudes. Think of it as carrying a wagon behind you. The more that is in the wagon the harder it is to pull and the harder it is to pull, the more tired you will be and the less distance you will cover." "'Get present to your presence'. Take a long hard look at yourself. Is there a sparkle in your eye? Is there still a slight skip in your step? If you met yourself at a party would you think ‘Oh I’d like to be friends with her’? If you don’t like the answers to those questions then maybe it’s time for a rethink. Time to look and see what you can do, or stop doing that will take you back to being that person. It's in your hands. Time to take action and learn to #LetGo." "Me time is not selfish, it’s a necessity. People have got to understand that doing this stuff is no longer a luxury. We have got to calm down. We have to let go of things that we don’t need to be clinging onto.”

Here's your new #LetGo mandate for happier living

1 Say what you are grateful for every morning - First thing in the morning, before you say a word to anyone and start planning your day, ask yourself ‘what am I grateful for?’ and whatever it is then say ‘thank you’. It doesn’t need to be anything grand or complicated, it could simply be ‘my family’, ‘my lovely soft skin’ or ‘that the dog didn’t chew my new shoes’. 2. TT3 (Today's Top 3 - things that you want to accomplish) - They could be small things, medium things or giant things – but stick to just 3. Write them on a little notepad and cross them off when you’ve done them - don’t put them in your phone, write them on a piece of paper. At the end of the day rip the paper up into little pieces and throw it away. Remember to be reasonable with your TT3; 1. Solve World Hunger. 2. Cure the Common Cold. 3. Learn Mandarin, is just asking for trouble. 3. TOT (Turn Off Time) - Turn off your phone and or tablet for 30 minutes per day. You can divide the time if you’d like but nothing smaller than ten minutes each time and it must be off. Not on silent. Perhaps choose this for your commute home, when you’re preparing the evening meal or when you’re soaking in the bath. But always off. Tis is the most difficult for all of us but the most worthy. Sounds simple until you try it. you’ll find it scary. 4. Use your commute time as You Time - Read a frivolous book. Look at holiday brochures. Meditate. Do NOT check your emails. DO NOT plan your next work day. Do NOT worry about the kids’ homework. 5. Have a bath and enjoy it - Sit in the bath and enjoy this time spent on your own. Close the bathroom door. Light candles, play some music, add a bath float or bubble bath. And enjoy this time out. Me time is not selfish, it’s a necessity. People have got to understand that doing this stuff is no longer a luxury. We have got to calm down. We have to let go of things that we don’t need to be clinging onto. 6. Stop and appreciate what’s going on around you - When was the last time you sat on a park bench for even ten minutes and did absolutely nothing? No searching through your emails on the phone. No playing games. Nothing. Looked at the sky, or as the saying used to be 'stop and smell the roses'. You owe it to yourself and the ones you love, give it a try. 7. Say what you are grateful for every night - Last thing at night - every night say 'What am I thankful for?' What was the best thing that happened to me today. And whatever it is say 'Thank you’

Do you need to #LetGo? Thanks for all your help.