My grandma shared some very wise words with me many months ago. She said, “Do something for your mind, your body and your spirit every day”. She understood very well the importance of self-care. As a former school teacher and single mother raising 4 children, she had to find ways to incorporate self-care into her life, even in the smallest ways. She would tell me how she stopped at the coffee shop on the way home from teaching school. It was her 10 minutes to transition from being a teacher all day to being a parent in the evening. She cherished those precious moments she had to be alone and enjoy a cup of coffee. She always did love her coffee. In fact, that was one of the last things she asked for and enjoyed before she passed.
I can relate well to the need for self care. I too am a single, working mom and have my own business. Fortunately, I split time with my children’s father so I do take advantage of my alone time and often do things that fill my cup so I can be a better parent and person.
I would venture to say that self-care is probably the most needed and least valued thing my clients, friends and women in general experience. We are great at taking care of others and not so great at caring for ourselves. We give, give, give and often run on empty until we are forced to slow down. Imagine if we gave a quarter of what we give to others, to ourselves, what difference that could make. The energy we might have, the lightness, the playfulness, the exhale we could finally experience. Wouldn’t that be nice!
There are many forms of self-care and so many ways to give & receive it. In honor of my grandma, The Old Lady, please commit to taking action on at least one act of self-care starting today and share below what you will do. It doesn’t have to be complicated or big, it can be as simple as enjoying a cup of coffee or taking a few minutes to transition from one role to the next, or anything else that would feel good to YOU. My grandma would be so pleased to know her words made an impact not only on me but on you too. So what will you do?