10 things I learned from Renée Trudeau

Mari Ann Loucks
Mar 31, 2016
3 min read

I recently had the pleasure of listening to Renée Trudeau speak, and when I say that it was life-changing, I mean it. The Ferris State Public Relations Student Society of America hosted an event entitled, Reflect, Reclaim, Re-balance, which was all about balancing all of the aspects of your life.

Leaving her speech, I felt like I had a new outlook on the rest of my life.

While everything she said was beneficial, here are some of my favorites:

1. Friends are essential to our well-being (especially supportive ones)

It's so important to surround yourself with people who not only understand your life, but support all that you do. It makes being around them so much more relaxing. Don't drain your energy with exhausting friendships; spend time with the people who make you feel energized.

2. Always put people first, and things second.

No matter what, the people you love come first. It doesn't matter how much you have going on. People will always be more important than things. Remember that daily, and make sure the people around you know how important they are to you.

3. Do not create such a fast pace of living that you cannot sustain it.

You cannot sustain a life that you cannot keep up with. Create a pace that you can sustain for the rest of your career, so you do not burn out.

4. Create time in your life for stillness; have pockets of breathing room in your day.

Life gets busy, quickly. Make sure you are making time to just breathe, enjoy your life, and enjoy those around you. As Ferris Bueller once said, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

5. When something is draining you, you have three options.

You know that one thing that drains you every time you think about it? According to Renée, you have three options: do it, dump it, or delegate it. Those are your choices, so make a decision today, and follow through with it. Then, it won't drain you anymore.

6. When life gets overwhelming, pause and ask yourself, "What do I need?"

If you feel overwhelmed, ask "What do I need?" What do I need right now? What is the first step to making this better? What baby step can I take to make this better? Asking yourself what you need will give you the answer, and relax you.

7. Ask for help when you need it (and know when you need it)

There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking for help. There is power is knowing when you need help, and acting on it.

8. You, and your life, are a constant work in progress.

You are not expected to be perfect. You should constantly be working on yourself and your life. This is the only way that you are going to live a happy, healthy balanced life. Do not expect your life to be perfect. Know that working on it is enough.

9. Make your self-renewal a priority.

Renée gave the example of "filling your cup first." If you fill your cup first, you can give more to all of the different aspects of your life. If you aren't filling your cup, you are not going successfully fill other cups. This is so important to work on every single day.

10. Be present.

You cannot live in the past, or the future. Do not worry about what you have to do in an hour. Do not worry about your project for tomorrow. Be calm, and be present in the now.

I will be singing her praises for awhile.

To learn more about Renée Trudeau, visit http://reneetrudeau.com. She is also an author, and thanks to a raffle, I am the proud owner of her book, Nurturing the Soul of Your Family: 10 Ways to Reconnect and Find Peace in Everyday Life. While I don't have a family of my own yet, the book talks a lot about making time for the things that matter, and evaluating what is currently working. All of these things can be applied to my life right now, so I think it is worth the read.