This year has gone by too quickly. I've been assessing my self and how I'm handling what is going on and I realized that it is not the sharp contrast to the lockdown of last year, but instead all of my commitments combined with getting older. I've long been told that as one ages the years begin to feel like months. In fact if you were to ask me what the date is I would probably tell you August, not October. I say this in full disclosure as I have, for the past 6 weeks, gone into places and wondered why there aren't high school students getting their summer job on. Well, because they are back in school and I don't even know what month it is! So here we are, on the move, going 80, to what end? And how can I really self care on the move?
This is actually a newer concept for me because like so many I long believed that to truly care for me I needed to retreat, spa, pamper, luxuriate, etc. but here I am and my self is telling me something different, something new: Get what you need because you deserve it. Do you believe that? Do you believe that you deserve to be cared for by yourself? I do. And in this hectic season I am learning to care for me on the move, here is what I've learned:
- Sleep: It doesn't matter how many hours you get if it is not truly restful, if it is interrupted, if its full of intense dreams. Which is why the best way to get good sleep is to prepare for it during the waking hours. For example, we all know to put our gadgets down an hour before bed and let our mind get into the zone. But doing this is more difficult as we have trained ourselves to "relax" to these gadgets. I am learning to intentionally practice putting them aside and meditating, or doing yoga, or having an evening "quiet time" before bed to calm me, to be thankful for my day, to clear the mind before trying to sleep. I recommend this as I am finding it so helpful to take the time to put my day to bed before I put me to bed.
- Nutrition: I have been growing in this area a lot this year! Like so many women I believed the lies that I had to eat as little as possible, run as far as possible, and wonder why I was so tired all the time and unable to lose weight! Truth is food is fuel and the body requires it! I am on a much healthier path now, and watching the body shape change into what I want, its a good feeling. Exercise is also imperative here, but nutrition is a huge part of living well. I have been feeding me with what I need to live my life to the full and what a difference it makes! I've also added in quality supplements that have been making a huge difference (message me for more about those!) and I've cut my caffeine intake to almost nothing, in fact I can go without whenever I want!
- Basic Tasks: my favorite self care hack is to celebrate completing basic tasks. This might sound silly, but it is no small feat to keep the house clean, and the laundry, and the dishes, and cook nutritious food, and work 40 hours as week, and ... and ... and... Be real here, how good does it feel to accomplish those tasks? It is the routine tasks that seem mundane and annoying, but they are little ways that you show you every day that you are worthy of being cared for. And you care for you by marking that item off your mental list so you have one less item to remember, and a little less mental clutter to keep you up at night.
- Relationships: The busier I am the more difficult it is to have time and energy for relationships of any form. In this season of self caring on the move I am finding that I am more intentional about external relationships as well as my relationship with my self. I have taken the time to make "dates" with friends, to catch up and to intentionally invest in them and in us. Who I am doesn't like that I don't have the time and energy that I want to have for those whom I love most, but this is just a reality of life and so I'm learning to take that desire and intentionally put it into action and time spent with my dear ones. It has to be about quality because I don't have quantity, and there is a strong side dish of real adulthood here. It is juvenile of me to keep thinking and wishing for more, instead of taking on reality and being intentional about it. This also applies to my relationship with my self, I have to be intentional about taking the time to process what is going on as it is going on. The world doesn't stop for me to figure it out, so I have to make enough space to do my figuring and keep moving.
- Deep Cuts: For me this is a new level of "on the move" care. This is a very intentional care that comes from listening to my mind, my body, and my soul's needs and taking care of them as I am able to. Sometimes this is a solo hike, or a phone call with a friend, or taking myself to dinner and a movie, or getting a massage. Taking care of the deep cuts also means the internal wounds. I've discovered that in taking the time to treat me the way I want to be treated I am healing those wounds caused by those I allowed to treat me wrongly.
Self care is an ongoing process. Let me know in the comments what you have been learning about self care. And if you are ready to take personal development and self care to the next level then message me through the link below and I will schedule a time with you to talk about how I can serve you on this journey.
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