Guest Blogger: Denise Herrington
It hit me a few weeks ago how negative, judgmental and critical I have been over the last few months towards myself. I am not sure why, I am guessing it is the weather, or that’s what I am telling myself. It has been a long Winter, and now that Spring is here, it is grey and raining more than normal. But with this, I have constantly been judging myself… and telling myself I look and feel tired, older, not as fit as I would like, and I am not being present in my workouts. During this time I feel like all I do is complain and get snappy with my kids and my husband and then feel guilty and insecure because of my actions. It’s a vicious circle.
WOW… Enough already!! It was time for me to snap out of it and get out of this negative self-sabotage slump I allowed myself to get into and to quit blaming everything but me for how I AM CHOOSING to feel.
How you treat yourself is how you are inviting others to treat you.
It was time to shift my mindset to show myself COMPASSION and SELF CARE to get recharged and look at myself differently. I wanted to be more patient with my kids, and be more grateful for myself, my body and what I have. I started to schedule 60 minutes just for me to set some daily intentions, exercise and to practice being present in that time.
As women (wives, mothers, grandmothers, career women) we have been told or taught that the constant nurturing of everybody else around us (especially our spouses and children) should be our priority and take up most of our time and it usually does. Most of us love this, it is part of who we are, and we really want to… But we also have to practice SELF CARE mentally, emotionally and physically and make ourselves a priority so we can truly be present and show everyone around us to do the same.
If you are struggling with putting yourself on the list of things to take care of in a day, here are 3 tips you can implement today:
- Set your daily intentions every morning – Ask yourself as soon as you wake up and open your eyes “How do I want to feel today?” Happy, positive, nurtured, loved? Whatever you choose or tell yourself, you will think of this throughout the day and remind yourself of your intention.
- Be kind to yourself. If you mess up, it’s okay, it happens. You’re human. Choose to be kind to yourself instead of berating yourself for a failure.
- Give yourself scheduled time that is just yours every day and choose something you love; maybe it’s meditation, yoga, a walk/hike, run or a workout. Make it about YOU and be present in that time you have given yourself, it’s YOUR time.
Self care takes time, and lots of love and gratitude towards yourself. Start today by doing one thing to put yourself back on the list.
“When you say “YES” to others make sure you are not saying “NO” to yourself.
– Paulo Coelho –
