The old adage, Health is wealth, never gets old, right? What’s the use in growing financially, crushing your goals, and overall leveling up if you won’t be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor because your health is failing??
Every year as I do a new vision board, the goal, self care, continuously carries over. I personally never saw much of this behavior from the women in my family. They gave of themselves constantly to work, men, family, and church. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nothing wrong with doing these things, their mistakes were not pouring into or taking better care of themselves. I in turn grew up doing the same thing.
I had no idea that I wasn’t caring for myself properly. That concept was foreign to me. I didn’t know how to say no. I found it hard to stick up for myself. I didn’t know how to take a compliment. I was in unhealthy relationships. This went on for years. It was time to re-evaluate.
Eventually I learned that self care and self love were not only necessary but vital to my life, my happiness, and my existence. I had this realization after having my second kid. My cup was not only empty but DRY, honey! I was literally running on fumes. I had this new baby and a very small support system. I wasn’t getting any sleep. I was losing weight drastically due to stress. It was extremely important for me to be a great mother to my kids. Under no circumstance could they grow up like I did. So, I had some major changes to make.
I rarely did anything for myself outside of the necessities but I realized that not only was I doing a disservice to myself but also to my family. I was unhappy and feelings of depression and exhaustion haunted me. I began to make slow but sure changes with my health and self care. I began pouring into myself and became a much happier person as a result.
What does self care look like for me?
Learn Something New - I enrolled myself in a couple classes. These classes eventually helped me land a new job making more money.
Nail Spa - I began getting manicures and pedicures regularly. This served as quiet time for me away from my little loves. It also gave me a confidence boost.
Reading - I used to read 1-2 books a month prior to having kids. I want to get back to that but it’s so hard. It now takes me at least a month to read one book but audiobooks have helped tremendously.
Pamper Nights - Because I can’t always afford to go to the spa, once a week usually while my kids are sleep, I take a long relaxing bath, give myself a facial, use my body scrubs, play a little music, and lather myself in my best serums and body butters. As I get younger, it’s become increasingly more important to take care of my skin. These nights help tremendously!
-Catch a Movie or a Concert- My absolute favorite thing to do is watch movies and go to concerts. A good movie can transport you and good music is like therapy to the soul!
Get Out - be it with friends or family, schedule some time to go out and have fun. Some ideas on things you could do are dinners, shopping, ladies nights, date nights, or game nights. These all help you in getting back to your old self. It allows you to unwind some and have a little fun.
Working Out - it serves as personal time alone. It reduces my stress and I literally forget about my concerns for at least an hour. I leave feeling refreshed and renewed. My ultimate goal for working out is to lose weight but it works wonders for me mentally (praise him). It’s literally like therapy for a sister!
Massages - I literally forget what’s going on in the world while I’m on that table. It’s the ultimate me time🙌🏾!
Say Yes to Help - We are all Super Women, but you have to know it’s ok to accept help from family and friends. Stop trying to do it all on your own. If it lightens your load, gives you a break, gives you me time, or gives you a breather then please TAKE IT!
I get personal satisfaction from doing these things listed above. Once I began taking better care of myself mentally and physically, the quality of my life improved. Find some time to do something for you. That could be taking a day off work without alerting your immediate family, I like to call these mental health days. It could me a Netflix and chill day or a pamper day. You don’t always have to spend a whole bunch of money. More expensive options would be to take a vacation, a staycation right in your own city for a day or weekend, or do a spa day.
You can’t live for everyone else. Choose yourself for a change. This may seem selfish but actually it’s not. When you’re happy and full spiritually, the rest of the house runs smoothly. Your energy becomes more vibrant. You’ll smile more and overall feel good about yourself.
