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One of the most sure methods to stay on a focused,
purposeful course in your business, relationships. . .
in
all of your life, is to take extra special care of
yourself.
Often what happens is exactly the opposite:
everyone and everything else in our lives takes
precedence over our personal needs.
What happens then? Everything crumbles.
Nothing works. The entire system shuts down.
I challenge you to take to heart each of these Paths
towards Passionate Self Care. Print this list out.
Add any other specific methods you use to care for
yourself. And next? Apply them! Yes, DO them!
Without fail! This leads us elegantly into our
first path:
1. Recognize that Self Care is simply NOT
optional. In order to keep all of your life
balanced and running smoothly in the same way you
schedule maintenance for your car or regular hair cuts
for yourself and your children, you MUST be sure that
you are respecting and caring for yourself exceptionally
well. It is of EXTREME importance. So get
out your calendar and plan some of these activities into
your life.
2. Just as physical clutter can get in our way,
mental and emotional clutter has the same result.
De-cluttering or de-clogging will come in personalized
forms. Some that I use regularly include shifting
my environment from indoors to outdoors, taking a walk,
de-cluttering my physical space, crafting with my
children, telephoning a friend who makes me laugh.
Try various methods and be sure to prevent mental and
emotional clutter. If it shows up, immediately
take action to clear it away.
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3. Arrange some "Play Dates" not for the
children in your life: for yourself! One of my
goals is to have lunch with friends at least once
weekly. This is an adult play date. Another
play date for me and my children is to go skating at the
local roller rink. We have several other mutual
parent/child combinations who also enjoy skating, so we
meet them at the rink to delight in the exercise and the
company. Invite friends to your home and get out
the Pictionary or play Charades or whatever game you
particularly enjoy. Believe me, you will laugh
harder than you have in a LONG time when your intention
is simply to have a great time.
4. Develop and practice a hobby. One of my
favorite newer hobbies is painting. No, I am
not a gifted visual artist and no, I do not paint
canvas. I enjoy painting terra cotta pots.
Yes, this might sound unusual at first. I enjoy
painting pots and then using them for plants that I
glean from clippings from my indoor plants.
Lately I have been painting pots and planting small
indoor plants in them to give away. My intention
is to encourage people to create Gratitude Gardens
inside their homes. The joy is simple AND immense.
5. Get adequate rest. (If you started
laughing, stop!) Get on a regular pattern of sleep
and stick to it. Realize that you truly WILL have
plenty of time even if you do not stay up later than
feels good to get "just this one last thing"
accomplished in your day. When you become a
Passionate Self Care Practitioner, you will be amazed at
your increased productivity.
6. Keep your arms open to receive the people into
your life who are there, ready to support you in
continuing to grow in Self Care. There are people
in your extended circle right now who are waiting for an
invitation to serve you in some way. Its up to you
to recognize who those individuals are and to invite
them in with specific ways to empower you and lighten
your load. Practice making simple requests at
first, and then grow accordingly. Be sure to
complete the process by opening your arms to them in a
big hug and lots of verbal gratitude. There is no
other rewarding gift like a face that is lit up with joy
and embracing arms. You deserve both.
7. Take time to be pampered on a regular basis.
What does that mean to you? Maybe its a regular
manicure and pedicure. Possibly its a weekly
massage. It might be creating a dinner co-op
group. (Five families each cook one night time
meal weekly for all five families. This makes one
big night of cooking and the other four nights of no
cooking!) Or it may mean having an evening to
spend exactly as you want to with your partner once a
week or monthly. Like all of these ideas: it is up
to YOU to experiment and see what suits and serves you.
8. Write a love letter to yourself and read it
aloud daily. Remember during courtship when deeply
felt letters of love arrived in the mail? There is
nothing like it. Take the time to romance yourself
through recognizing what is special about YOU. One
way to start is to write a Top 10 List. My friend,
Glenda, practices writing "The Top 10 Things I Love
About You" for others especially when they are
feeling low. You may start there: writing Top 10's
for others. Then write a Top 10 for yourself.
Finally, write a standard love letter. To YOU.
Read it aloud. Even record it and listen to it
with your eyes closed. Revel in self love.
9. Respect yourself in thoughts and in action.
Merriem Webster defines respect in this way: "to
consider deserving in high regard". Becoming
a Passionate Self Care Practitioner will empower you to
see yourself in this way. Unless you respect and
care for yourself adequately, no one else will, either.
And do not even pause or hesitate. You DO deserve
high regard.
10. Prove to yourself that Self Care is of utmost
importance in your life so you can serve others from
your most heart centered self. Take two tall
glasses from your cabinet. Take several smaller
glasses out of your cabinet as well. Fill one of
the tall glasses almost completely with water. Put
a small amount of water in the second glass. Now
pour the water from the tall glass into the smaller
glasses. Read one of these tips and think of ways
to apply it into your life. With each application
option you create, put more water into that tall glass:
replenishing it. Fill more small glasses. Think of
more ideas. Continue to fill. Look at the
almost empty glass. See how many small glasses you
can fill with it. Do not replenish.
The large and perpetually refilling glass represents the
Passionate Self Care Practitioner. The large non-refilling glass is the person who has chosen to ignore
his or her own needs. It is obvious to see what
the results are both in filling glasses and in having a
fulfilled life.
Now, the choice is yours. Become a Passionate Self
Care Practitioner.
Julie
Jordan Scott is a Personal Success Coach who left her
career as a government bureaucrat and built a successful
business in less than six months. She now combines
mothering 4 children with inspiring people worldwide
with her books, e-zine, teaching and personal coaching.
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