I know you. You’re a smart, savvy professional. You’re a woman of distinction and elegance. You’re a top performer and an expert in your field. You’re good at what you do—really good.

And I know your wellness struggles because I was there once myself—okay, maybe more than once. Just like you, I was driven to achieve. Just like you, I was over-serving. Just like you, I was working way too many hours. Just like you, I was putting my own health and the people, places, and things that I loved on the back burner.

I’d tell myself, “Soon, I’ll start my new eating plan. Later, I’ll start to exercise. I’ll listen to my favorite Spotify music channel whenever I have a few minutes to myself.”

I’m betting you know exactly how well that thinking worked: “Soon,” “later,” and “whenever” never arrived.

My problem came to a head when my sister developed end-stage kidney disease and required a transplant. She needed two things in her kidney donor: a genetic match, and super health. And I, the health professional, filled only half of those criteria…the first half.

That shocking reality was like a glass of cold water thrown in my face—a real wake-up call. The idea that my sister’s doctors could reject me and send me home when I had the opportunity to literally save her life? No way.

So, I started my own personal boot camp to whip myself into shape. I learned again how to eat well, rest, set boundaries, and reclaim energy sensibly.

It worked! Then, when I saw how much healthier my sis was just hours after the surgery, I pledged to never let myself go again. And I can honestly say that I still feel better now, 16 years later, than I did when I found out my sister was so gravely ill.

Today, I want to share with you some of the simple but powerful practices that not only revived my health at that time, but also helped transform my entire life going forward from stressed and overwhelmed to strong, radiant, and elegant. Click here to discover the 3 key habits of women who feel centered, vibrant, and unstoppable.

1. Handle cravings by asking yourself 3 important questions.

Karen was a seasoned, successful top performer. As a real estate professional, she had achieved vice president status in her company—and the super lifestyle that came with it. She didn’t just have a talent for her job, she truly loved her work. Yet she came to my office feeling bloated, stressed, and overweight. She’d struggled with this for years and had still to find a solution. (Can you relate?)

We talked and discovered that Karen’s problem was, in addition to her busy schedule, an inability to fight sugar cravings that would come on very suddenly, almost like hot flashes, in the late afternoon. Giving in made her feel foggy and sluggish, and hindered her efforts to stay on top of her game as a thriving professional.

I recommended that she ask herself 3 crucial  questions: What am I feeling now? What do I need now? and Did I get enough sleep? She realized that she felt isolated and lonely, she knew she needed support from a friend, and yes, she was exhausted, a prime factor behind hunger and sugar cravings. The next week, when Karen experienced those strong cravings (and the crankiness and anxiety that tended to come with them), we discussed those questions once again, and she noticed that she felt better about her uncomfortable cravings after checking in with herself and posing these queries to herself.

2. Find your Yin and Yang.

Perhaps you’ve been working an insane amount—it’s probably a habit by now. But with only 24 hours in a day, how can you make the time for more rest, more satisfaction, more of the good things in life, especially in uncertain times? That’s a frequent question among my patients and clients.

It turns out the ancient Chinese knew the solution to work/life balance over 5,000 years ago. In Eastern philosophy, the universe is seen as made up of complementary opposites known as Yin and Yang. Every living being that is stable, healthy, and full is composed of a balance of these features.

If you’re like most high-performing women, you’re pushing the pedal to the metal—higher, faster, more driven—24/7—and you’re pulled in so many directions. These qualities all are considered Yang by the standards of traditional Chinese medicine. In short, you’re feeling exhausted and unsatisfied because you’re lacking the Yin half of your equation.

But, when you sit back to think and visualize, when you maximize your creativity, when you take time for relaxation and peace and embrace your feminine intuition, then that’s the other 50 percent at work. That’s your Yin.

A balanced professional thrives; an unbalanced one suffers burnout. Keep going without restoring stability, and you may soon find not only your sense of satisfaction, but also the very success you’re so doggedly pursuing…elusive.

Please don’t get to that desperate point. Feeling a little too much of your Type A self in operation? Here’s an “acupressure to go” trick you can use right now to instantly restore your balance. Touch the Yintang—the centerpoint between your eyebrows. Known as “the third eye,” this acupressure point gives clarity, insight, calmness, and focus. Over many years, I’ve seen this simple technique open up possibilities for my patients. It can work wonders for you, too!

3. Craft your own Mindset Password.

Think about what happens when you slip on your favorite piece of jewelry: Stress dissipates and you feel empowered. Your posture improves. That workday “concentration crimp” between your eyebrows relaxes. You may notice you breathe a little more deeply, and your outlook brightens. You look and feel fabulous.

Wearing your favorite bauble all the time may not be practical, but guess what? The power of your mind is just as magical. You can call forth that same positive mind-body response anytime, anywhere, by creating for yourself a personal “mindset password.” Here’s how:

• Clear and calm: Close your eyes and imagine your hand drawing circles. Research shows that you can’t think of stress and make circles at the same time. Amazing!
• Visualize, in color: What color feels soothing to you? Let your imagination paint a scene in that color.
• Invite sound: Emotional response is strongly linked to music, rhythmic patterns, voices, and many others sounds. What sounds stimulate pleasure, comfort, or other positive feelings for you? Let your memory recreate them.

Now sum that up in a few short, easy-to-remember words. For example, for me, it’s “circles-blue-ocean sounds.” That’s your Mindset Password. Easy, set, done!

You may need a few tries to uncover your perfect combination. Building the habit of mentally de-stressing with your password (instead of tensing up, shouting, or turning to nicotine, caffeine, or sweets) may take some time, too. But people who use this technique are positively radiant. They feel great in their own skin, ready to hit the ground running.

You may be thinking, “That’s interesting, Roberta, but how do I make these habits work for me?” I’d like to suggest a great starting place is to complete my Health Snapshot survey. This straightforward, complimentary online questionnaire will help you identify your personal trouble areas—lifestyle and habits, exercise, nutrition, etc.—that may be contributing to conditions such as low immunity, lack of energy, or frequent headaches. The Health Snapshot takes only a few minutes to complete. Just click this link to begin: Health Snapshot.