I was “taking good care of myself.”
I joined a fancy health and fitness club.
Life was good. I worked hard, I played hard. The end. That was the story of my Life.
In reality it was hardly that simple or great. There was a whole lot of commotion in my life that I was trying to resolve and juggle. Building my house, renovating my office, building my business, running a household, working at my marriage, worrying about parents & keeping up with friends. How was I doing it all? I was thriving. But people close to me didn’t think so.
It was mentioned (a few times) in passing by family members & friends: “You have too much on your plate. You’ll burnout be careful” I remember becoming very irritated and defensive once. I responded, “Don’t worry about me I really do take good care of myself. I can handle it.”
After all, I worked out 4 days a week. I ate healthy wholesome meals. I drank 2 litres of water daily. I had weekly lunches with my bestie. I scheduled massages when I was stressed or overwhelmed. And, on most nights I even slept a minimum of six hours. I took really good care of myself – so I thought! Hmmm….
On the inside: I buried vulnerability. I played the resilience card. I sought out quick-fixes. And I convinced myself I was okay. Unknowingly, I placed a label on emotions: “I’ll deal with it later. Not now please emotions.”:
Along the overachieving path of success and ambition, I disconnected from myself. I did not know how to take care of my inner world. One day I found myself sleeping hugging a pillow, with a deep wound and sadness. The ache made my stomach hurt and my head throb. I was not okay. I fell apart inside!
After a few intense days of deep seated pain, I was gifted with a new awareness. I paused. Made simple and easy changes in my daily routine to include internal nurturing and nourishing.
Suddenly, the world took on a different appearance—a kinder, more meaningful, more abundant, and compassionate glow.
This is how I did it. Self-care is doing little things for yourself. Self-care is a lifestyle! Self-care is all about treating yourself with love & kindness.
My simple strategy for everyday self-care is “mini retreats”.
Mini retreats are bite-sized self-care rituals that can comfortably fit your life and bring gigantic stress relief.
3 easy steps to create a totally do-able self-care plan tailor made for YOU in 15 minutes
Step 1 – Brainstorming
Set aside 10 minutes to brainstorm what would you like to do in your mini-retreats
I’d love to……. Just jot down as many as you like. No wrong or right. Don’t worry about time, money or when. Just enjoy the dreaming, exploring, discovering. e.g. sitting at a coffee shop reading, attending a yoga class, learning to dance, meditating, journaling, celebrating good things of the day, visit Paris, go skiing…
Step 2 – Organising
Select 3-5 activities on your list that you can implement easily and quickly. Minimal time, money or planning. I call them Simple Pleasures
Of course, it would be great to start incorporating ALL of the activities into your life but since you may already feel time restraints, we need to prioritise.
Select 1 activity that will create fireworks in your life. Make you feel good about yourself
Select a 2nd one that will have lasting impact throughout the day
Select a 3rd one that you can do right now.
Step 3 Planning
Pick 1 from step 2 which mini retreat would love to start this week. Grab your calendar and book these mini retreats for this week! Voila!
