Self-Care: Check-in

At the moment, I feel pretty great.  I’ve slept in the past two mornings.  I’m currently sitting at my kitchen island with no makeup on, drinking fresh homemade lemon ginger tea.  I’ve actually gotten to see and spend time with my husband the past two days (which is incredibly rare because of our conflicting work schedules).  Not to mention, I’ve been “catching up” on some things that have taken a back seat recently. I feel pretty awesome at the moment.  I’ve found my chill.  My Happy Place.

lemon ginger tea

But the past couple weeks (let’s all be honest here… the past couple months really) I’ve been a mess.  I’ve been so caught up in the hustle of every day life and work. I haven’t been sleeping well.  I’ve been stressing excessively about everything going on both at work and at home (all good stuff, promise! just lots of it). And  my body has been sending me huge flashing signs that things aren’t right.  I’ve been feeling sick, tired, and achy but all without being actually sick.

I’ve been in a not so great place both mentally and physically.  

Last weekend was a huge turning point.  I had the most incredible opportunity to stop everything, travel to another state, spend time with incredible people, eat awesome food, get a little spoiled, enjoy amazing scenery, laugh, and just relax.

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The best part???  I didn’t open my computer, check my email, or return any phone calls (except to my amazing husband at home) for THREE DAYS!  3 DAYS!

Rachel and I even went live on facebook on our way home to talk about how we need to invest more in self-care because she and I had never gone three days without talking about work.

Since getting home on Monday afternoon, I’ve done my best to stay in that positive place and keep going with the self-care.  For me that means getting a good night’s sleep.  Going for a run.  Getting a massage, occasionally.  Stopping to spend time with my mom.  Having dinner with people I love. Taking time to put on my makeup and dress nicely when leaving the house. Listening to a podcast. Making tea.  Lazing on the couch. Etc.

The phrase “sleep begets sleep” has come up a lot in conversation the past couple months and I think it can translate really nicely to self-care.  Self-care begets self-care.  It is a practice, a habit, a mindset, and a routine.  Self-care does not always come easy to me, so I have to practice.  Some weeks, I do better than others.  But I know the more I practice taking care of myself the easier it will come and the better off I will be for it in the end.  It has never been more clear to me that “you cannot take care of others until you take care of yourself.”   Resting, treating my body well, and tuning into my overall well-being help me to really hustle when I need to and to be more present and helpful for others.

How do you engage in self-care?

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