This month I am focusing on self love, self care and generally becoming a priority in my own day to day routine. This is no easy task friends! For a number of reasons, including being sick with a crazy cold, I am struggling to make this practice of self-care feel achievable for the long term. So, I started doing a little research on how to make this possible and I found a few little gems that are helping me to get things to a point where they feel like part of my regular routine.
- Identify your struggle. I’ve shared a lot about my struggle with positive self talk, and that seems to be the hardest part of self care for me. This one little mantra, each day, is a powerful reminder to treat myself as I would treat others. I am focusing on rewriting my self-talk script with this a simple mantra that I am working on making a part of my morning routine. I owe it to myself to love myself in the way I freely give love to others. This is an impactful reminder that I want to learn and embody for myself but also for my daughters.
- Keep it simple. The most impactful self care, I believe, comes from the smallest of changes. Take just one aspect of your life, health, technology, family, work, sleep, and whatever you choose, make a small but deliberate adjustment. For example, unplug from social media for an hour each day or read for 15 minutes before bed. Trying to make too many changes or invoke too many new “routines” at one time will be way too overwhelming and unsustainable.
- Be okay with saying “No”. Also, be okay with saying “Yes”. I know this sounds a bit contradictory but friends, life is about choices. By saying “Yes” all of the time, we make little room for ourselves, as those “Yes” responses often require us to give and give and give of ourselves and our time/resources. Conversely, saying “No” all of the time, may alienate or remove us from the possibility of exploring new experiences. Find your balance. Manage your time and resources like balancing your budget. You only have so much to “spend” so plan ahead to make the most of what you have. Both saying No and saying Yes can lead to new adventures, so take stock of your personal resources and make a plan to spend them wisely.
- Take a rest day. Often, self care looks like taking a beat for a chance to recharge. For athletes, rest days are just as important as those hard 2 a day practices. This is true for all of us. We live in a world of GO GO GO and sometimes we just need to press pause and rest our minds and bodies. Identifying that you need to rest, is a strength that most of us don’t employ. You can’t pour from an empty cup, you have to nourish to flourish, and you cant run the marathon that is life without every letting your body & mind take a moment to catch up.
- Lastly, practice makes perfect. Find a few little things to practice self care, and do them often. This will keep the practice going, strengthen your routine of self care and help keep you at the top of that “to-do” or priority list on the regular.
Follow me on Pinterest ( http://www.pinterest.com/michelledarrell) for more self care ideas from contributors that I like to follow as well as on Instagram (@momdaymotivation) for my “in the moment” self care practices.
Momday Motivation 