CHANGING THE SELF CARE MINDSET

YOU SPEND YOUR DAYS TAKING CARE OF YOUR KIDS, PARTNERS, HOME AND WHAT EVER ELSE IS ON YOUR LIST. WHO’S TAKING CARE OF YOU??

Here’s the thing. Literally, no one is going to do this for you. YOU need to do this for you. YOU need to take care of you. End of story, period, Amen.

The real question is: Are you COMMITTED or are you INTERESTED? Do you know the difference? Once you do, it’s a game changer.

Commitment = You are going to do what you need to do to take care of yourself, no matter how big, how small, no matter what. It’s part of your daily TO DO list. YOU are on that long list, right along side everything else you are committed to.

Interested = Sure! Self-Care sounds great! Bring it on! But, this or but, that or, what ever it may be, get’s in your way. Something else comes up that stops your self care from happening and you continue to back burner YOU.

For Self-Care to work, it needs to be an intentional, deliberate and purposeful practice that YOU are committed to. You might be feeling, ugh! Sounds like a lot of work! Well, it can be, but once you begin and commit to it, it get’s easier and easier and it’s WORTH IT! It’s not about being perfect at it, nothing ever is. And it’s not always easy to do, especially at first, but it has to be intentional, deliberate and purposeful in order for it to happen for you.

Commit to getting yourself into the habit and practice of putting YOU on the top of your list along side all of the things you have listed to do for your children and family.

I know, in my own parenting journey, there were times when I rocked self care and did it really well. Then at times, not so much. Then there were times I didn’t take care of myself at all and these times, when I did not take care of me very well to, not at all, were the times I can honestly say I was the most unhappy, exhausted, overwhelmed, and dare I say, resentful parent and person as a whole.

Self-Care is crucial for us, as parents, to be able to be the best version of ourselves, thus allowing us to show up as the best parents we truly wish to be. More often than not, when we become parents, we are so enamored and overjoyed with our little one(s) and we do everything for them. We love on them. Nurture them. Feed them, care for them and it’s a beautiful thing. What tends to happen, however, over time, we forget ourselves in that process until our own self care has been back burnered, or put on a shelf for so long, we actually forget what it is or what it was that we even liked or needed for ourselves in the first place!

But where to begin?? How do you find your joy again? Perhaps you are so overwhelmed, over scheduled, exhausted, the idea of adding this into your already packed day seems not only impossible, but daunting. Understandable.

Start SMALL.

And by small, realize even beginning with making a commitment to YOU is a step. Then take the next action step by asking yourself some questions. Be honest with yourself and understand there are no right or wrong answers, but your answers. These are about YOU. Self-Care is highly personal and unique to YOU.

Commit to yourself first and make it priority. Then take the next action step and ask:

~What is Self-Care to me?. What does it mean? What does it look like?

~How often do I do the things that make me feel good?

~What are my biggest roadblocks stopping me from committing to taking care of me?

Just beginning to THINK about these questions is beginning the path of your self-care.

How amazing is that??

Self-Care is not being SELF-ISH and making it only about you. Self-Care is about being SELF-CARING and making it about you too.