Take Time to C.A.R.E. for Yourself

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.

~ Buddha

As my wedding day approaches, I feel myself shifting, changing, embracing and adjusting to the new landscape. So, I took a mental health day.

A day to not think. Not take care of the family, the house, the bills, not meet a friend, no coaching – nothing. To just focus the day on me.

What I learned is that it’s been too long. I was a little uncomfortable and restless. I observed some unconstructive, old thoughts regarding time, money and self-care and I need to continue to develop new, empowering thoughts. I’m a work in progress!

Observing ourselves in action is the first step toward change. You first have to know what you want to change in order to change it!

Too often, we -especially women- focus on everyone else. We are busy. We need to manage everything or it won’t get done. The world will fall apart without us holding things together. God forbid we let go for a minute…

This ‘holding things together’, along with the expectations we have about how we should be, what we should do, fears of not having everything a certain way or fears of what others will think, and the unreasonable standards we operate within, causes tremendous stress.

This impacts our bodies, our spirit, our creativity…our ability to enjoy life.

In fact, it is usually our bodies that cause us to take notice and slow down.

At some point, we can no longer deny the pain, stiffness, discomfort, or lack of function.

Or perhaps it’s the depression, anxiety, paralyzing fear or lack of motivation that brings us into the health care system and that sparks some impetus for change.

Because we feel the need to justify the time, the expense and the need, which is too much work, we don’t take the time OFF that we need to recharge and to really care for ourselves.

I propose a new strategy. I propose that we take the time to C.A.R.E. for ourselves, that we put ourselves and our needs first – others second.

We start with ourselves because it is only by caring for and honoring ourselves that we then have the strength to give to others.

If we make ourselves matter and respect ourselves to the n-th degree, then we are free to truly respect and love others. Respecting ourselves makes life easier and more enjoyable by increasing our confidence and self-esteem, improving the quality of our relationships and increasing our productivity.

Steven Covey in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People uses the term “sharpen the saw” in which he refers to caring for oneself.

How do we begin to C.A.R.E.?

1) Communicate Clearly

Listen to how you speak to yourself all day. What you think about is what you bring about. Choose new, better thoughts that will guide you to take better actions.

It is easy to shield our bodies against poisoned arrows from without but difficult to shield our minds against poisoned darts from within.

~ Buddha

2) Appreciate Yourself

Stop taking yourself for granted! Too often we wait until our bodies fail in someway, or we are too drained – sick and tired – before we do for ourselves the very things we should have been doing all along. Why wait? There is nothing more important than taking care of your own needs. Start today. Be grateful for you – your talents, skills, body, mind…

You are amazing! You are a spiritual being here in this body at this time in order to experience this lifetime. Isn’t that incredible? You have this body for your use. You have hands and feet and muscles to make you move. You have organs and a circulatory system to keep you alive. You have a brain to think, eyes to see, and ears to hear. Every day you awaken, you are given a gift – the gift of life!

~ from The Journey Called YOU and The Little E-Book of Wisdom

3) Respect Differences

Respect that you are different and unique from everyone else. Stop trying to suppress yourself and set yourself free to be you – in all your glory!

Vain attempts to imitate others no longer will I make instead will I place my uniqueness on display in the marketplace. I will proclaim it, yea. I will sell it. I will begin now to accent my difference; hide my similarities.

~ Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman in the World

4) Employ Empathy

Use all of that compassion you have for others on YOU. Start empathizing with yourself. Recognize how much you do. Celebrate your efforts. Give yourself permission to feel whatever you are feeling, to identify your needs and then honor your needs.

I also propose you schedule your own Mental Health Day where you take the day off from thinking or worrying. Schedule things that take you away from the worries of your daily routine and that help you relax. Let me know how it goes for you and what you learn about yourself.

Your partner for success,

Coach Julie, RN ~ Nurturing Your Success

P.S. Want to review your day with me personally and create a strategy for change? Schedule a free coaching session. It will be the best 30-minutes of your day!