In order to take care of others we need to first take care of ourselves we can't take care of others if we aren't 100%. I've been feeling uninspired lately and just not like myself. I know that I have not been taking care of my own well-being lately. We all need to carve out space for ourselves to take care of our minds, our bodies and our souls.
A few days ago I went out with my best friend, she had a surprise birthday gift that we were going to do together. That day in particular I was pretty down, not feeling worthy of myself and doubting everything I was doing and just in a really low place. It had been raining all week on our vacation so my husband and I were cooped up inside and I wanted to be outside in the sun. My friend and I went to dinner, caught up on our lives, did a quick errand and she then drove us to my surprise. My surprise was a tarot card reading! I love doing my own tarot card readings but I've never had someone else read my cards. My friend and I have gone to a medium a few times and it was an amazing experience. I use tarot cards as my form of therapy but having someone else do my reading was just the therapy I needed. I left feeling so uplifted, so inspired and I felt reenergized and ready to take on anything!
We talked about being confident in what I want to do, focus on my writing and to venture out. This past week I was thinking how can I enjoy the summer when I don't really have the time and I then a thought came to mind to treat my days off like vacation days. Go out and do things that I enjoy, go to the ocean, a beach, hike with Riddick... on those rainy days those are the days I can stay in and be lazy. We talked about taking time for myself, taking time to reset and if I'm not at my best I can't help others be at their best. You can't wait for someone else to make you happy- you have to do it yourself. She talked about looking at our calendars at the beginning of the year and taking the days/weeks we want first and then everything else can follow around your schedule. Not everyone can really do that but if you have vacation and personal time you can block those out to the days you want. She was so energetic and inspiring and it was exactly what I needed in that moment. It made me really think about what I want to do and how I'm going to do it. The only person getting in my way is myself with my self-doubt.
One thing that I really want to focus on is my self-care. If you're in the same place that I'm in right now, stuck in a rut or feeling uninspired and you know you're not taking care of your own well-being then join my self-care challenge. Self-care helps with stress, anxiety, depression, and helps us refocus and it will help your overall well-being.
So today all you need to do is carve out some time for yourself. All you need is 10-15 minutes but if you have longer that's even better. Take time to clear your mind. You can use my list of ideas that can be found on the main self-care challenge page but I'm sure you can come up with some great ideas that will work for you! There is also a tracking sheet you can use if you'd like.
Today I was planning on waking up early to enjoy my coffee and do a quick workout, but I had a rough night of sleeping so I listened to my body and slept in for another hour. I did enjoy my coffee once I did wake up. Today before I have to go to work I am going to listen to one of my new vinyl records that I got an amazing deal on. Sixty vinyl records for $50 that's about .83 for each record and I got some really good records! Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, complete box set of Bruce Springsteen live, Foreigner, James Taylor... I'll probably put on some Billy Joel and do my food prep for the week and then do a quick workout. While I food prep I'll be unplugged, away from my phone and dancing around my kitchen!
I have a day off on Thursday and I'm going to take the day for myself and go to the beach. It's going to be a beautiful day. I'm going to start treating my days off like vacation days, that way I have something fun to look forward to! I started planning out my workouts for the week as well. Workouts are hard to get in, especially when you work all the time. I figured I have two days off during the week that I can workout in the mornings and I close at least two nights a week so I can do a quick workout before work. That way I'm not working out after a long day at work. I walk at least eight miles a day and do up to 20,000 steps a day so it's not like I'm not being active. Yesterday I took some time to give myself a manicure and paint my nails. It's very therapeutic and I love having nice nails! I need to get back to doing my morning journaling so I'm going to start doing that this week as well. I hope you can find something to do for yourself today, remember, self-care helps with stress, anxiety, depression, and helps us refocus and it will help your overall well-being. I will be updating you daily but I work wacky retail hours so some days it may be later in the day, so please be patient with me!
Have a great day!
What are you doing for yourself today? Remember, you only need 10-15 minutes!