Hi friends, thank you so much for all of your feedback and support on my blogging update from last week. I’m excited to slowly transition this space to be one I am proud of, and one that truly adds value for you. <3
Can I be honest with you for a second? I have been a straight up BIOTCH…
…To myself.
I have always been a bit of a perfectionist, and have always had a habit of being a little too hard on myself at times. But over the past few months, it has reached an unacceptable level and I am straight up calling myself out. I treat myself like crap.
Yes, I eat well and exercise which is important when it comes to taking care of myself. However, the things I say to and about myself on a daily basis are just cruel, and how I treat myself mentally negates all of the good things I do for myself physically. I cannot imagine ever saying some of things I say to and about myself to others, or treating others how I treat myself. If I did, I would make Regina George look like Mother Theresa.
I know I’m not the only one that does this.
As I mentioned in my blogging update, you can go to pretty much any healthy living blog and find a post or “About Me” section where that blogger talks about a time in her life when she had an unhealthy relationship with food and/or exercise. Myself included. And guess what? More often than not, those situations don’t truly have a lot to do with how much we weigh or how we look. At least not at the root of the issue. It is because as women, we have a hard time giving ourselves enough credit for all that we are. Eventually, that can manifest itself through treating ourselves poorly in any number of ways.
Much like JT did for sexy, it’s time to bring self-love back.
I want to devote more of this space to the ever important topic of self-care. I am committing to treating myself as well emotionally and mentally as I do physically. Committing to giving myself more grace when things don’t work out “perfectly,” and trying to enjoy the season of life that I am in instead of wishing I were onto the next phase.
I want you to join me.
Let’s start out small with what I like to call “self-care Sunday.” Raise your hand if you have ever gotten the Sunday blues – that anxiety that sets in with Monday right around the corner. To beat those Sunday blues, let’s devote 30 minutes to self-care every Sunday. I know you’re busy. I am too. But there are 24 hours in a day, and seven days in a week. We can devote 30 minutes to treating ourselves right.
So how do we practice self-care? There are a lot of theories out there, but for me activities that promote self-care are those that 1) you enjoy doing 2) make you feel good 3) have no room for comparison or perfection. A few activities I plan to do for my self-care Sundays:
- Reading
- Journaling
- Creative writing
- DIY beauty projects (at-home facial, manicure, hair mask, etc.)
- Meditating
- Yoga
- Self-reflection
- Enjoying a nice meal without your phone in hand
- Gardening
- Reading affirmations and inspirational quotes (bonus points for putting them on your mirror, or another place you’ll see them often)
- Low-impact exercise
- Call a friend you haven’t talked to in ages
…and the list goes on!
So let’s start today. Yup, you heard me sister. We don’t have time to not do this right now. Today, I plan on doing some creative writing for no one to see 🙂
Comment below and let me know if you’re in, and what you like to do to practice self-care. We got this, girl.
Isn’t it crazy how we can be our own biggest bullies? No bueno. I love this idea of devoting time each Sunday to recharge our mental and physical batteries.
Right? It is so crazy how much we can beat ourselves up and think nothing of it. Devoting time to pure joy each week is a huge help.
Great post! You are so right about bloggers having an about section where they talk about an issue they have had with weight/ eating – myself included! I have to force myself to step away from my blog to do other things so that I stay balanced. One way I practice self care is exercise. It is the one way I stay sane!
Thank you Willow – so glad you liked it! Exercise is an AMAZING way to practice self-care.
Yasssss girl, you know I’m all about this!
Amen, sister.
I’m with you on the perfectionist approach to almost everything, and I think this is such a great idea Les!! 🙂 My first goal is to NOT have my phone or laptop in front of me while I’m eating, it’s such a problem!
Oooh Marina that is such a good one! I need to work on that too
LOVE THIS!!! I beat myself up way to much when it comes to weight, work and comparing myself to others! I try to step back and think about all the good and amazing things in my life and that always makes me feel better. Definitely need to do this Sunday self love!! 🙂
You are so not alone Kelsey – so many of us do that same (me included). I love your gratitude approach!
LOVE IT
Thank you Lauren!
It’s amazing what a gift I realize it is, to care for this body, this body that is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and not beat on it. It’s okay to take care of it, feed it, and fuel it. It’s okay to rest it. <3 I'll definitely be doing some of those things on your list this week. 🙂
YES. Whole-heartedly agree. Staying centered on faith is huge for self-care.
I LOVE this and I am so in. I am totally guilty of the Sunday blues after a weekend of indulging. Last Sunday I spent nearly 3 hours by the beach just reading and it was so peaceful — no phone, just me and the waves crashing along the coastline giving me time to reflect.
Kellen that sounds incredible – can I join you next time? 😉 The Sunday blues are tricky, but I think we can work through them together!
I’m with you Les! I just spent about an hour sitting next to the hubby on the couch, hanging out, and coloring in a Monet coloring book. That’s some great enjoyment and relaxation for me. 🙂
That sounds wonderful Jennifer!
Love this! I have been trying really hard to take time to do things for myself that fills me up and restores my energy. I have been making it a goal to set aside more time to spend with friends and family and just signed up for a monthly massage membership for some stress relief!
So glad you enjoyed this post Carly! I totally agree, it can definitely be hard to carve out the time for self-care when there’s so much going on. A monthly massage sounds like heaven!