We give so much of ourselves away everyday, that most of us are running on fumes. We're stressed, overworked, filled with anxiety and we don't feel good. With the constant need to be productive, please others, and "give it our all," we end up giving away all our power. So how do we get it back and actually start living a fulfilling life?
Self-care
Don't roll your eyes 🙄 I know you've heard this before and don't trust that it works or is even necessary. But look where you are. Do you feel good? Are you living your happiest and healthiest life? Is making the choice to not give yourself the best care working out for you?
Self-care is a necessity to a happy and healthy life.
Self-care is the new health care.
It's time to unlearn the ideas of self sacrifice equalling a meaningful life and replace them with self love. As we lean into shifting our mindsets around taking care of the self we create a ripple effect and influence the people around us.
How do you want to influence your loved ones?
Self-care isn't selfish.
Self-care isn't laying around taking baths, being lazy, reading books and eating chocolate all day, although those are perfectly acceptable options and REST IS PRODUCTIVE. Self-care is tuning in to what your body needs and fulfilling those needs.
Self-care isn't more effort.
It's just a different kind of effort. We've been taught that self-care takes more time, money, and effort and that's simply not true. What it does take is a different mindset and intention. This can become challenging when we carry around stories that we have to earn self-care and live in a society that doesn't value taking care of the self.
Make self-care a mindset instead of a to-do list.
Where to get started.
Start asking yourself questions about where you are and where you want to be. You're in charge of how you want your life to go.
What are your current views on self-care?
Evaluate what really matters to you.
Start exploring what it means to listen to your body and what it needs. What does this look like for you and how does it feel?
Feeling guilty about self-care is common, take some time to explore any feelings you might have that cause you to avoid taking care of yourself.
Start with one small mindset change and work on it a little bit everyday until you create a new pattern.
Stop listening to what everyone else thinks about self-care. Are they happy + thriving?
What would a mindset shift about self-care look like?
Old mindset
It's really common for people to use exercise or moving your body as a punishment and we avoid it, because who wants to punish themselves.
We often view exercise as a rigid set of activities like
Going to the gym
Lifting weights
Exercise videos
Pilates, Yoga, Hiking
Our minds begin to fill with shoulds and we begin to feel guilty about not doing it. We might drag ourselves to the gym, but inevitably find ourselves making excuses to not go.
Can you feel the resistance with this mindset? Can you feel your body contracting?
New mindset
What if you began to open up your currently held beliefs about what moving your body means? Why can't it be fun? Why shouldn't you enjoy it?
Expand your list of physical activities to include things you love to do.
Dancing, at home in your athleisure, in your pjs, or with your kids
Gardening, moving that soil, bending down, over and around, carrying that watering can
Swimming and enjoying some pool time
Hula hooping, roller skating, skateboarding
Trampolines, jumping rope, playing with your pet
Pole dancing
Horseback riding
Cardio drumming
When you begin to expand what moving your body means and do things that you find fun, you get the benefits of exercise without the feelings of guilt, shame, and punishment. And when you're doing something you enjoy, it just begins to feel like a life well lived.
Does this new mindset make you feel more excited about moving your body? Can you feel how much more expansive this is? How does this new mindset feel in your body?
When we work towards creating a new mindset towards how we care for ourselves, we begin to live our life on our terms, defining what a fulfilling life looks like to you, not anyone else. We begin to let go of the things that don't serve our wellbeing and take back our power, stepping into the happiest and healthiest version of ourselves.