Being Proactive In Self-Care

“You Set The Tine For Your Life When You Make You A Priority And Not An Option.”

What is your definition of self-care, and are you truly invested in taking care of you?  My definition of self-care is to make you a priority and invest time being committed to your well-being. It is easy and sadly it is almost like second nature to take care of everything and everyone else around us first and our needs are placed last on the list. The reality is there are people who are a lacking a clear understanding of what it means to practice true self-care. There are many different forms and categories of self-care, there are people that believe showering themselves with material things as an act or practice of self-care, gifts are okay, but they are not the most important they only reward temporary rewards and satisfaction. It is very common to meet people who believe their hard work and success speaks the language of taking care of self because they have committed to doing and having. In reality none of those things even come close to be a factor on the topic of self-care. self-care is simply taking the time to take care of your mind, your body, your spirit, and soul. It’s about taking the time every day to take a moment and just be about you, taking the time to fuel your mind with positive reads things that fills you up instead of draining you. Take time to speak life into yourself, your dreams. It okay and great to be the voice of reason and in service to the people around you but if you are not taking care of you first you are no good to anyone else. “You cannot give what you don’t have, and you cannot give the little that you do have.”

The question that some may struggle with is figuring out the “how to balance making time for self and life.” The reason being is that sadly we have been taught to make self-care an option and not a priority and we have also been given the wrong idea of what investing in taking care of ourselves looks like. The day I became a mother I began to reflect of the examples of motherhood I saw around me and the self-sacrifices that were made and I vowed to myself to not make those same choices. I made up my mind to love me fully I knew that in order to be the best wife, mom, and woman I desired and was created to be that was necessary. The first point I wanted to share is that true self- care does not require money, the second point is that it does not require you cutting out life duties it just requires you wrapping your life around your well-being. I started with practicing beginners level yoga and meditation at home every morning, I was a new stay at home mother I was clear on the fact that my days revolved around her care. with only 24 hours in a day I knew that it was my responsibility to make time for me and not leave my needs up chance. What that looked like was me waking up three hours before my daughter would so I could invest my morning fueling and pouring into my mental, spiritual, and emotional health. Lastly, I always created a set time to take care of my physical health and I was intentionally about making these important steps a non-negotiable and not an option.

In closing I say make YOU TIME a priority and not a thought, put your name in a time slot on your priority list. Make being in service to self an appointment to invest in you fully you can pray, read, meditate, self-reflect etc., just to name few. Another very important form of self-care is to identify when to say no, for example you may be that person everyone calls to dump their complains, struggles and sometimes negative topics on. Its okay to be proactive in protecting your peace unapologetically and respectfully by simply stating" I am not open to taking on your stuff today". By communicating the space, you are in that is you taking a stand for you without feeling sorry or feel guilty. Detoxing our mind and protecting our energy is necessary for our well-being. love the people you love, be true to you always, but never forgot to detox and refuel. Take time to love on you and pour into yourself first daily the greatest investment you can make is the time you invest in your personal development and well-being.