Self-care for the Win

Self-care can take many different forms for different people. Some people it’s skin care, eating healthy meals, drinking lots of water, and others it’s taking time to read a book. Self-care is time that is focused on you and helping you recenter yourself. Being a busy woman and mom, this has to be intentional, or I could go quite a bit of time doing and serving others, leaving me drained and honestly not feeling joyful or peaceful. Self-care helps us, reset and refocus, which is very much needed. I used to struggle with taking the time to create space, and it’s been a work in progress. Part of what has allowed me consistently to have this time is of course planning it and solving problems that have arose to challenge that time. It’s so easy to get lost in the day-to-day tasks and then next thing you know you’re drained for days and have lost almost even a sense of self. Taking my time for self-care has allowed me to look further into my passions and rediscover myself, something I believe moms especially feel is a loss of sense of self.

Over the years, I incorporate more self-care into my life. At first it was eating healthy and was focused on that aspect because it was the one thing, I felt strongest about changing. Then it was focusing on moving my body- started with walks and got creative when I took them at times. I used to use 30 minutes of my hour lunch break to walk. Sometimes I couldn’t get that full time because work was crazy, but I would go refresh myself with the fresh air and move my body. As time has gone on and my focus has been creating habits slowly and successfully, I’ve been able to expand those types of things and have learned how to take better care of myself and keep up with all the things.

Things that I do for self-care vary. Some days it’s setting aside 30 minutes or an hour to write or journal and explore what’s going on in my own head. Depending on life and where I am depends on what the focus of that time would be. Some days it’s creative time with brainstorming, some days it’s daydreaming and figuring out the life I want to build and how to get there, and others it’s more of taking a look inward and working through some things that are bothering me. Even just 15 minutes here can do wonders for yourself. I’ve walked away from so many of these sessions invigorated with new life and purpose and other days with peace and calm, and if we know anything with the chaos of life, those moments of peace and clarity are to be cherished because they aren’t as common! To create this space some days, it is me getting up earlier than everyone else and let me tell ya- the peace and quiet is AMAZING. Other days it’s forced me to take an actual lunch and get away from doing a working lunch (I still struggle with working lunches more than I’d like to admit- I’m a work in progress )

Self-care has been exploring my own interests. I’ve recently restarted horseback riding, one of my childhood loves. Like many, I was horse crazy in the younger years. I’m sure a lot of us busy ladies can say with many things in life, it got crowded out with the hustle and bustle of life. I can’t encourage you enough, to find things that feed your soul. For you it may not be horseback riding. Maybe it’s painting, cooking, or reading. I encourage you to take that time for things that you care about or want to discover in your life. I used to read all the time when I was younger, but again it was years before I read a book of my choosing for pleasure. I now plan my reading time and most days get it in. Even if I can only get 10 minutes in a day, that’s better than not having touched a book in years. These things give us a sense of self and enjoyment, so it’s important not to get lost. We may not be able to explore every single interest right now, but we can create space for some of the really important ones. I encourage you to use your me time to create the life you want to live and give purpose and direction outside of mom, wife, employee, etc. Don’t be scared to dream and create.

It can even be possible to enjoy several self-care items simultaneously, such as taking a bath and reading a book or playing relaxing music. Putting on a facemask and vegging out. My main encouragement is for us to sparkle best in our every day lives, it’s to create and protect our time that is so needed for us to recharge and an integral part of our own health and wellness. No feelings of guilt here. I just encourage you to look at your life and find your top priorities because with budgets and time constraints. Sometimes we have to prioritize, and we can’t do all the things. We CAN do what’s important and make space and time for it. So get your planners and schedules out and plan your self-care time!! Just remember to start small. We don’t have to conquer the world in the first day! Start with one minute and show up. If it’s more then great, if it’s only the one minute it still builds your confidence that you showed up and you did what you said you were going to do. It’s a win and it’s attainable! Sparkle Up Buttercup!