SELF-CARE SEPTEMBER: MID-MONTH CHECK IN

Y’all. We hate to admit it, but caring for our inner self might actually be harder than caring for our outer self. It’s such a long ingrained habit, particularly in women, to put everything and everyone before ourselves and if something must fall off the day’s checklist it’s the thing we were doing for us – that bath, that pedicure, that 10-minute meditation. It takes a lot of brain re-training to see this spent time as absolutely essential rather than self-indulgent. But ladies, it is absolutely essential. There’s the old adage about not being able to pour from an empty cup, and it’s so true; you can’t pour into others what you don’t have to give.

NEED A NUDGE? If you’re feeling stuck or stagnant in your self-care journey, try one of these easy (and free!) ways to be kind to yourself.

• TAKE A WALK/STRETCH: It gets the blood flowing and lets you have uninterrupted thoughts. Your brain is most active when it’s at rest – you might just have an aha! moment.
• CALL SOMEONE YOU LOVE: This one is two-fold – it can fill your cup and theirs!
• BAN SOCIAL MEDIA FOR A DAY: Listen, we know that it can be a place to find support and commiseration (hello, we love our Wolf Pack!), but it can also be a toxic place of false realities that leaves you feeling inadequate or less-than. And at the very least, it can just be a time-suck. Try turning off notifications and/or hiding the app icons for day; you won’t regret it.
• TAKE A NAP: This one can be so much harder than it seems. There’s a stigma of laziness, there’s the time-guilt (“I should be doing XYZ with this time instead”), but spending half an hour asleep can work wonders and is way more productive in the end than spending hours sludging through something half-alert.

Think about it this way: you would never feel guilty for spending 30 minutes on the treadmill taking care of your body, you shouldn’t feel guilty for spending 30 minutes in silence or journaling or praying or whatever it is you need to do to reset. You are a better wife, mother, employee, friend – PERSON – when your soul is rested and your mind is cared for. Take the time to take the time.