THE 12 DAYS OF SELF-CARE

In this fast-paced, busy life, it is often difficult to remember that we are a person with needs too! With so many responsibilities and daily tasks, who has time to meditate, to read a good book, to play as we did when we were kids? With this being true, I still want you to think about your heart, body, and mind and ask yourself what you are doing today to ascertain that 30, 40, 50 years from now they are still in good function enabling you to continue living the same life you are leading now. It is SO easy to shrug off self-care and claim we will get to it tomorrow, but for the next 12 days, I want you to consider taking on this challenge and see how it changes your perspective and life.

DAY ONE: SELF-KINDNESS

Are you kind to yourself? We tend to work so hard to be kind to others while forgetting to be kind to ourselves! How often do you catch yourself judging yourself, being unkind to yourself, denying your own needs, etc.? Today I want you to try to express self-kindness to yourself at least once! This gesture might be by being gentle to yourself when you make a mistake, by giving yourself permission to take a break, by encouraging yourself to keep going…

The goal is simply to find a way to be KIND to YOU!

DAY TWO: SELF-PRAISE

How many times do you praise others every day? “Great job!” “Well done!” “Way to go!” How many times do you offer yourself the same praise? “I’m proud of you!” “Wow! That was really hard and you did it! Amazing!” “You’re doing a really great job!” Today, I challenge you to praise yourself at least once. In addition, I want you to reflect on how it feels when you acknowledge your own progress, efforts, and excellence! When we realize how little we do these things for ourselves, it’s eye opening and the simple act of one self-praise goes a long way in helping us realize how little we praise ourselves!

DAY THREE: SELF-CARE

When was the last time you gave yourself permission to take a bath? To take a walk? To read a book? To watch your favorite show? Today I want you to do ONE self-care act purposefully! You are scheduling this self-care act and following through on it! NO EXCUSES! When we make conscious and purposeful efforts to take care of ourselves, we begin to FEEL our own worth! As a result, we show up more refreshed, we have more patience and tolerance, we are more energized, and overall more enthused about life! So take care of YOU today!

DAY FOUR: SELF-LOVE

How have you expressed love toward yourself lately? When we love others, we think about their needs and freely give of ourselves to help meet those needs. What need do you have that needs meeting? Today I want you to meet ONE need that you have. After you meet that need, I want you to reflect on how you feel with that need met. Do you feel happier? Healthier? More equipped? More optimistic? As we meet our needs, we begin to feel more empowered and that empowerment ripples to all areas of our lives!

DAY FIVE: REWARD YOURSELF

When was the last time you rewarded yourself for a job well done? Just living life day to day and surviving is a job well done! Life can be challenging and overwhelming and when we expect so much of ourselves and put so much pressure on ourselves, we never seem to see what we have done and ARE doing! Today I want you to take note of all the “little” things that you do every day for yourself and others and reward yourself for a job well done! Go see a movie, take a break, take a day off, engage in a beloved activity, have lunch with a friend…just do something that you perceive as rewarding and joyful! I promise that afterward you will FEEL the benefits of rewarding yourself!

DAY SIX: SELF-REFLECT

Today I want you to self-reflect and meditate on your life. What things are you happy with? What things do you wish were different? How would you like to improve your life? What do you believe that you can improve? What do you doubt you can? When you come across a doubt, I want you to ask yourself these vital questions: 1. why do I believe that I cannot change this thing? 2. Who are the people in my life that I believe are connected to my doubts about my ability to change this thing? 3. If I had more help or support, would I be able to change this belief to a CAN? When we take time to meditate and reflect, we connect with ourselves and with that connection, we become conscious of the thoughts, feelings and behaviors that are keeping us from living our best life!

DAY SEVEN: DRINK & BE MERRY

Did you know that more than half of all people do not drink enough water daily? Adequate water consumption is connected to energy, good digestion, weight loss, and so much more! Oftentimes when we are tired, we reach for things like sugar and caffeine not realizing that we may simply be dehydrated! Hunger pains can also be related to dehydration! We tend to focus so much on the big changes without realizing that the simple act of setting a goal to drink more water can drastically improve our life experience! Today I invite you to drink more water! Just one extra water bottle a day can increase your energy exponentially!

DAY EIGHT: FIND GRATITUDE

Today I want you to list 5 things that you are truly grateful for! These things cannot be things that you THINK you are grateful for, but do not FEEL you are grateful for. The five things MUST be FELT. You’ll be surprised how helpful this exercise is and your eyes will be opened once you realize the things you are actually grateful for! Once you identify the five things you are truly grateful for, consider how you can experience more of these things in your life. Gratitude is the number one feeling associated with living an abundant life!

DAY NINE: LEARN SOMETHING NEW

Did you know that when we seek knowledge and learning that we are nine times more likely to absorb the knowledge than when we passively learn things? Conscious learning has the power to transform our lives rapidly once we believe in this process! If you want to achieve your goals, study all the most successful (and fulfilled) people in the world and what you will find they all share in common is their passion for learning and continuous self-improvement. Today, set your goal to learn something new and see how this inspires you!

DAY TEN: EXPRESS YOURSELF

Today I want you to sing, write, or create in some way! When we express ourselves, we give ourselves a voice and that voice is connected to releasing big emotions within. When we sing, we often connect with the lyricist or singer’s emotions which helps us to connect to similar emotions within and when we feel the message, we are a lot more likely to pull up our own emotions and once those emotions are up, we can release them. Only after we create or express ourselves do we even realize the feelings or thoughts we are experiencing. The simple act of self-expression often leads to us realizing our own thoughts and feelings. And once we realize our thoughts and feelings, we have the power to do something about them if we choose! What will you sing, write or create today?

DAY ELEVEN: PLAY

What do you enjoy doing? Today I want you to do something that you just enjoy. There’s no focus on how this thing will contribute to you moving your life forward. This thing is strictly about feeling JOY. Laugh and be present as you engage in this pursuit. Maybe you grab some sidewalk chalk and draw your heart out on your driveway? Maybe you grab your kid’s legos and build the highest tower? Maybe you call up your best friend and invite her over to play a round of UNO? No matter what it is, the goal is simply to experience PLEASURE! We spend FAR too little time engaging in activities for the simple joy of the activity. We claim we do not have time, we are too tired, our childhood’s are over, etc. Today, your job is to find ONE thing to play. There is no thinking in play! Your job is to simply be present in the moment of enjoying whatever activity you choose to engage in. After, feel free to ask yourself questions like “why did I enjoy that so much?” “What about that activity enabled me to be so present?” These questions may just lead you to making lasting change in your life for the better!

DAY TWELVE: GIVE A GIFT

While I get that these twelve days are supposed to be about you–on this last day, I want you to find someone you feel a strong desire to give a gift to. It may be the homeless man you pass on your way home from work every day or your nephew who is passionate about Pokemon and has been looking for this one specific card to complete his collection. It may also be your daughter who has been wanting your undivided attention for weeks, but life has simply been too crazy to make this commitment. As you reflect on this gift, what I want you to focus on is what gift you can give that will make YOU feel the most. If giving your nephew the Pokemon card is not going to lead to you feeling anything, then that’s the wrong gift. This gift must evoke a strong feeling in you. It must be something that you WANT to give! When you give this desired gift, I want you to focus on the feelings that arise in you as you seek out the gift, prepare the gift and give the gift. Afterward, I want you to ask yourself what about the experience was so inspiring?

Now that the twelve days are complete, how do you feel? Did you enjoy doing this exercise? Was there any one day that you felt was the most life-changing? What inspired you most? Are there things that you will be integrated into your daily life moving forward? If you try this, please share in the comments how your experience with this was and your favorite take aways!

Much Love!