Not Sooooo Much!

I made a pledge to myself this weekend:  I am going to take better care of myself.  The last month has been a whirlwind of taking care of everyone but me, and the migraines every day last week were the proof in the pudding.  While I love doing things for others, it shouldn’t come at such a heavy load on me, my mind, and my body.

The apathy that I talked about in my first post (click here to view) has lessened since January in most aspects of my life, but it crept back in my actions toward myself.  I was eating badly (in my terms, not in the terms of the average American), overscheduling, running myself ragged, and wearing myself down.  Boo for me!

The reality of this cycle was that I wasn’t my best for anyone, and I wasn’t even really taking care of people as well as I could.  I wasn’t saying “no” to anything that came my way, and I just wasn’t being realistic at all.  My motto, “Be Your Best; let go of the rest,” was being totally ignored.

In fact, I was taking the rest, gathering it all up in my arms, and trying to cram it into every little nook and cranny of time and mind that I could find.  Exhausting carrying all that extra load.  It had to stop.

Each day, I will do something for myself.  Most days, that will take the shape of a blog post, which I love and helps cut through the crazy.  Some days will include reading the Bible for longer than usual, soaking in a bath, relaxing with a glass of wine, reading a magazine, taking an extra long morning walk, or sitting outside with my feet planted on the ground.  In fact, I’ve already started one thing- a daily change- that I’ll tell you about later this week.

I’m sure that on some days I will fall back into old patterns, but realizing my problem will help me make the changes that are needed.  I know that some of you out there are great at self-care, so give me your tips!  What do you do to take care of yourself?