Each month of the year we have a theme in my online coaching group. And because February is the month of “LOVE”, our theme for the month will be self-care and self-love.
One thing that has become SO apparent to me over the last few years is that we don’t do enough of this for ourselves.
As moms, and busy women – we tend to give, give, give and feel guilt, guilt, guilt if we do anything for ourselves.
Either because we are taking time or money away from our families, or because we are taking time away from work and things we need to get done.
Studies show that self-care, *especially* for women, is a huge predictor of happiness not only with ourselves, but also in our relationships with others.
You know the whole, “If you don’t love yourself, you can’t really love anyone else”….and, “if you don’t fill up your OWN bucket, it’s a lot harder to fill up others’ buckets…”
We hear those sayings a lot, but do we really believe them?
We’re stressed, tired, annoyed and resentful when we feel like we aren’t getting what we need. Yet, a lot of us don’t voice what we need, or take the necessary steps to put what we need into action!
There are a lot of us who can’t afford (or don’t want to spend the money on) things like massages, facials or mani-pedis. Some of us literally can’t find the time to schedule these things even if we wanted to.
The good news is, self care and self love doesn’t have to cost a dime.
Each week I am giving my online clients 3 options of self-care to choose from.
Their goal is to pick ONE thing and work on that one thing for the week (or longer if they choose).
In whatever way it fits into their schedule, they are to MAKE the time to make themselves a priority.
A lot of us already exercise and move as a form of self-care, and that is great – but it also may be such a lifestyle factor that we may need a bit MORE….and that is A-OK!
So we’re going to do what we can, and I’m inviting you to do the same!
Here are this week’s options:
*Start a gratitude journal.
What are you grateful for? Be specific. Not just, “my health”, “my family”, blah, blah, blah….get really specific. Think about someone in your family. WHY are you grateful for them? What do they do to make you feel that way? You get the idea, specifics matter!
*Meditate for 1-10 minutes.
This is free. And if you need a little help (like me) there are a TON of free apps you can download. So many of my mentors meditate and swear by it. This will be MY focus for the month, and today was my first day 🙂 Can’t you tell me and the babe are so proud of ourselves?! Ha!
I plan to tack it on to something I already do, this way it will be easier for me to NOT blow it off. So on M/W/F, I will do this after my already scheduled strength training session. Kind of as my cool down.
Piggy backing a new task on to an already formed habit is a great way to increase accountability. Keep that in mind!
Speak UP!
Tell your spouse, partner, boss, friend what you need. Enough of feeling like everyone that is close to you is a mind-reader (been there, done that – it doesn’t work). If you need a walk after dinner, tell someone. If you need some space from your kids – take 10 minutes or tell your husband what would help you!
Too many of us are stressed the eff out, yet we don’t think that there is anything we can do about it, and there is! We just have to speak up, tell people what we need, MAKE the time and #juststart (small).
Remember, body change happens in your MIND first. If it were only about dieting and exercising, reaching our goals would be a breeze.
This is JUST as (if not MORE) important. So treat it that way!