Taking Care Of Myself.

What does it mean to take care of ourselves?

I asked a few fellow Starbuckians, who kindly answered me (the stranger bothering them while they’re trying to read and drink their coffee).  “Eat right” ….”exercise”….”sleep 8 hours or more a night” …”don’t drink soda” …”don’t smoke”…”go on vacation”

I LOVE that last one!

All great ways to take care of ourselves physically and emotionally, but what if there’s more?

Sometimes taking care of ourselves means saying NO.

I have a tendency to overbook myself. In work, in church, in extracurriculars. Not to mention that I am an easily stressed person in general who can barely handle 1 commitment a week. So instead of running around like a chicken with her head cut off 365 days of the year I am learning to say NO. 

This past week I have said NO so many times that I almost believed that the earth would stop spinning…but it didn’t, and I feel free as a bird.

And the fact of the matter is that there is nothing that you cannot say NO too.

There may be consequences to not going to work tomorrow, but you can still say NO. You may hurt some feelings if you don’t go to the birthday party, but you can say NO. You can say NO to adding another small group to your already insane week. You can say NO to watching your second cousins baby when you really just need some couch time. 

What I have found, is that people don’t really care as much as I thought they would If I say NO to things. And the people that do care, usually have their own issues to work through.

What I have also found, is that the more I say NO, the more I want to say YES to the things in my life that are important. 

I am not so run down from trying to do EVERYTHING, but instead, I am enjoying the few things that I choose to do.

FREEDOM!

Now in regards to “eating right” and “exercising”, I have found both to be extremely important when taking care of myself both physically and emotionally.

BUT…sometimes ice cream is exactly what the Dr. ordered. And sometimes going for a run is not as important as taking a nap. 

Part of taking care of myself is being able to really focus in on what I need in each moment. What do I want. What do I need. What feels good for me.

Sometime all three of those things feel different, and that’s okay. It’s incredible to me how much our own bodies tell us about our needs.

Taking care of ourselves is really an art. Some people will never really know themselves, and that makes it hard to truly take care of yourself. 

Ask yourself this: Beyond the worlds standards and the expectations I put on myself, what is it that I need in this moment…right now.

Maybe it’s an ice cream cone. Maybe it’s a nap. Maybe it’s a bath. Maybe it’s a good cry.

Listen to yourself. 

Take care of yourself.