Taking Care of Ourselves
For many of us, our families come first. This often means taking care of their needs, the needs of our home, the demands of our jobs, and the countless and seemingly never-ending list of errands before taking care of ourselves.
And usually when we get to ourselves, we’re completely exhausted, so we crawl into bed to stamp out the noise from the day, hopefully getting a few hours of rest before starting all over again.
How many of us can relate to images of being hunched over the kitchen sink to quickly wolf down a sandwich before needing to attend to something urgent, or waiting to go pee until we can’t hold it anymore, or not remembering the last time we did the creative things that feed our soul?
*raised hand* I can! I can!
It happens to us all. You are not alone.
Let’s face it. We are all busy.
The problem with this is that even though we are sacrificing ourselves at the excuse of needing to care for our loved ones, we are putting their needs before ours. However, not tending to our needs, feeding our soul, or caring for our health will add up over time and one day, we will break down. And when we break, those we love most, those we deliberately “sacrificed” the most for will suffer the most.
If we are not well, those around us cannot be well.
Make it a priority tonight to do something for yourself. You are not being selfish. By taking care of yourself, getting to a happy feeling place will have a positively infectious influence on those you love the most. After all, don’t we want to give them our best selves?
Decide right now: I will take care of myself. I will take care of my needs. I will make myself a priority.
Some of you may be thinking, “What about my kids? Do I just neglect them and take care of myself? How selfish.”
To which, I’ll say to you, “Dear friend. I am not suggesting neglecting them. Take care of the urgent needs of your children; of course, we are adaptable like that. However, instead of turning on the TV or gossiping when you have a moment of free time, do something meaningful for yourself – read something inspiring, draw a picture, take up photography, start writing. When you are hungry, don’t go rushing to do house chores. Take time to relax and recharge.”
Here are some simple rules I aim to live by:
- When I am hungry, go eat. Stop doing work.
- Work around my family’s schedule, so I am fed, rested, and hydrated.
- When I have to go to the bathroom, don’t delay.
- Go out with friends (without husband and kids) once a month.
- Spend quality alone time every day, if possible, even if for 5-10 minutes.
- Bubble bath and hot tea are great healing tools to unwind.
- Write in my journal regularly.
- Take every experience – good or bad as a learning experience.
- Take deep breaths.
What does your body and soul tell you that you need? What have you wanted to do for yourself, but have been too busy to do?
-Tina
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