I Feel Good Community Challenge is for______. [br] [originaltext]Interviewer(M)

Interviewer(M)Amy Hendel(W)
M: The road to happiness is easier than you think. Sign up now to join thousands of others in the / Feel Good Community Challenge—6 weeks to a happier and more balanced you. Ivillage contributor Amy Hendel is the health expert waiting to challenge. Amy, good morning.
W: Good morning, and there’s a lot of happiness on this day.
M: Yes. We feel good all the time. Tell us what is this challenge for?
W:(1)This is a six-week challenge to make women realize that they need to reclaim a little me-time. Women are out of balance. They don’t realize that they are doing so much for others. They’re not taking a little time for themselves.
M: So do you think in a sense, women may feel that they are selfish if they are taking time for themselves? That’s time away from family and friends and responsibilities.
W: We are the natural caretakers and often the point persons. If we always think this way, it may have a negative connotation to take me-time. We think of the women who do it to a fault, but we are actually being detrimental to our own balance. Our mental health and well-being depend on having a little happiness in our life.
M: OK. So let’s focus on the features and the tools of the I Feel Good Community Challenge.
W: OK.
M:(3-1)First of all, a cry-out board.
W: Yes. Because it’s not good to cry out to your husband, nor to your co-worker, your boss, maybe your friend.(2 - 1)But you need a place to let it out. We want distressed people to feel safe complaining, and then get on to the me-time.
M:(3-2)A "peace-of-mind" plan.
W: This is actually a tool that’s on the health aspect of the IVillage website—(2 - 2)it’s ongoing all the time but it specifically addresses stress and it personally tells you how to identify it and get rid of it. It’s going to be important in this challenge.
M: And then you got the IConnect. I guess that’s where everybody comes together.
W: That’s the message board.(2 - 3)That’s where the community comes together because it’s about supporting each other and giving each other ideas on how to do this.
M:(3 - 3)Now you got down here a Daily Blog. Is this your blog?
W: I do a daily blog, and I normally cry out the bad things going on. But specifically to this challenge,(2 - 4)I’ll be talking about the daily assignments, my own challenges with it, and how people can creatively get me-time.
M: And then you got coaches. What kind of coaches?
W: Well. I’m a coach, and there’s another coach.(3-4)We are actually going to be accepting personal me-time makeovers where somebody sends in e-mail, and we give them four or five quick tips to carve out the time to realize why they need it and then to creatively find it.
M:(3 - 5)And you’ve got I Feel Good Video, right?
W: After this morning on the "Today" set, you’re home, get rid of the chaos, organizational skills, you’ve got to find me-time by being creative about your organization.
M: You got some assignment tips, so that in other words, carve out me-time.
W: Carve out me-time at home and on the job.(5- 1)On the job, the day before, take 10 minutes, set up your folders, set up your phone list, find out who’s going to need you tomorrow, so there are less surprises. At home, lay out your clothes: lay out the breakfast table, the lunches, even lay out your makeup in order, so it can happen quickly and maybe you’ll get more sleep time, maybe you’ll get some exercises on.
M: And what I guess would be kind of a subset of the me-time is to find a hobby.
W: Absolutely.(4- 1)We need to reclaim passion and happiness. Think about what made you happy as a kid, think about a new direction you want to go and rethink your life goals, find quiet time to think about these stuff,(4-2)and then realize how enhanced your life would be if you have it.
M: And you said avoid roadblocks. What are roadblocks?
W:(5 - 2)Not being able to say no. You know the just-say-no phrase? You need to invoke it. We’re PMSing, meaning we are perfect mommy syndrome people. We are the caretakers of the world? Say no. Don’t be the head of every team, every group:(5 - 3)don’t take every leadership role, tell your husband, communicate and say those hard words: Honey, I need help.
M: OK, and when you say be creative, what do you mean?
W: I mean you need to really be smart about how you carve out the me-time. You need to save yourself: Is my house needing a little zen-like recreation, so that I am not walking through chaos, so that I am not wasting time looking for things?(5-4)Also be creative about what you want to do with the time, make it valuable, healthy eating takes carve-out-me-time, exercise takes carve-out-me-time.
M: And it’s all on the website.
W: All on the website and it starts May 21. Sign up now.
M: OK, Amy, thanks so much.