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Go-Getters are active, flexible people who put a great deal of passion and energy into juggling it all and being an effective caregiver.   Your ability to adapt and willingly jump in with a positive attitude and enthusiasm provides comfort to your Loved One.   

You pride yourself in staying motivated and ambitious with your high levels of organization and multitasking.  Your mottos are "get it done" or "I'll figure it out". 

Can you relate?   These qualities may be innate or experiences you been taught.  

Go-Getters are: 

• Disciplined 
• Celebrating  small achievements
• Passionate
• Finding Support
•  Courageous
• Persistent 
• Not afraid to make mistakes   

 What are the impacts of Go-Getting?  

A Go-Getter can be a good and a bad thing.   It's good because you're a high achiever with the right intentions.   You're driving for the best care for your Loved One as well as pursuing your passions and goals.  But it can also be a bad thing because your go-getter mentality gets in the way by.  

• You put a lot of pressure on yourself to be perfect which can cause high levels of anxiety.    You can work so hard that you forget to live your life and have fun. 
• You rarely take breaks or time off which can sacrifice your well-being. 
• You're frustrated or disappointed over your Loved Ones' deteriorating condition or lack of progress.  It can be hard to accept that the quality of care and effort have nothing to do with the actual health-related decline or mood of your Loved One. 
• You struggle and sometimes are angry with others who don't have the Go-Getter mentality.  

It's important you recognize and watch for these signs of Caregiver Stress. If you are a Go-Getter

 These are the first signs that you're not getting the physical and emotional support you need. 

• becoming irritated or angry
• feeling overwhelmed or constantly worried
• noticing health issues like high blood pressure, heart palpitations, headaches, body pain or more
• difficulty sleeping
• trouble concentrating

I'm hyper-focused on my schedule and staying organized.  Each Sunday I plan out my week so that I can be an effective caregiver, work my job and business and find time for the essentials of home.  

Ultimately, being a Go-Getter tipped my stress level to an unhealthy level.  (Gained weight, stomach issues, depression and more)  As much as I took pride in getting it done, I was stretched and overcommitted.    

So that's why I shifted my thinking from a Go-Getter to a Go-Giver.  

As a Go-Getter, I wanted to be the best at everything, but as a Go-Giver, I want to be the best to myself first.  There's a lot less pressure and a lot more joy.It starts with:

• thinking like a manager and asking for help and figuring out ways to do it all smarter.
• finding a team and working together  
• being open to not being perfect
• being ok with letting the small or less important things fall
• appreciating the joy in your new normal
• sitting down and spending time with your Loved One vs always "doing"

It starts with awareness first - take that quiz at https://www.cathylvan.com/quiz
Listen to episode 21  and i go through the 3 stages of Caregiver Overwhelm.  

Once you have the awareness you can then start working on reducing your caregiver stress and finding healthy boundaries

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