Selfcare & how every action counts…
Every step towards self care counts!
When I was a young mom, caught up in the day to day activities of my children, I was focused on getting to the next stage for me and for them. Mostly, getting through the tasks at hand, only to then wake up the next day and do it all over again with few variations to the day. I worked hard to create and grow my business, all the while keeping a watchful eye out on my kids and their progress in their own lives. Each day seemed to flow into the next as we all tried to keep it moving and create our own paths in life. And that we did! We all excelled in our various endeavors with many stumbles and failures in between. What was consistent in my family was this drive to accomplish, and move on to the next accomplishment. It’s what I knew and what we all began to do.
I’m not quite sure at what point this happened, but I remember my emotional world at the moment it happened. Someone asked me “what do I do for self care?” I felt embarrassed when I asked her “what is self care, give me an example?” She began to give me examples of self care like massage, getting your nails done, hair done, acupuncture, girls night out, etc…, and I did nothing on her list. Unfortunately, I had to research more examples of self care to figure out what to do. When I did, I began to understand that taking a moment to take care of yourself, even a moment adds up! Why? Because that moment is yours! It’s for you and it shows respect for yourself and gratitude to your journey as a whole and towards your day to day tasks. So even if it’s a moment, these moments add up to make you feel like you love yourself, you are important and you deserve your moments of self care.
My self care includes reading a book, doing 100 squats and walking lunges, having a cup of tea, looking outside my window and greeting the trees, my favorite thing. I don’t get to go away for the weekend with friends, I don’t get massages or facials, but I do take a moment every day and keep that moment cherished for myself. And guess what? After many years of forgetting about myself or being hyper focused on the days’ tasks, I feel so grateful to myself for my moments of self care. They add up! Most of all, they have contributed to my self-love. You will find that self care becomes self love. That is an awesome feeling!