So, I love the LOVE showered on me on Mother’s day.
How can you not get misty eyed eating chocolate sandwiches, made by the cutest hands, on an old fraying blanket in the middle of a chirpy park?
That was last year’s surprise.
The gooey delicious sandwiches were accompanied by frosty lemonade, hot herbal mint tea, and strawberries with coconut cream. So, as you can imagine, I’m counting the minutes till tomorrow’s surprise treat outing with my newly minted teen!
But there’s one more treat I am looking forward to tomorrow ….
The gift of #MeFirst I will give myself to last the entire year through.
When I got really sick few years ago, something shifted inside me, Maybe it was my proximity to the bottom (I had touched it) or the inevitability of an end but it triggered an inner fight.
My illness gave birth to a new me that rocked the mantra, “MeFirst.” Let me share the story behind it and how this could be the best gift of all to yourself.
My whole life I had treated my body, mind, and soul as my lowest priority. In fact, on my list of typically 100 todos, there was no Reena! Don’t get me wrong, I went on vacations, partied on weekends and generally thought I was fine.
But not until I got very sick did I look back at the list of bizarrely abusive behavior towards my body, mind, and soul!
– Working insane hours with extremely high stress
– Eating frozen processed or restaurant meals, if I remembered
– Never scheduling a moment of relaxation or self-care
– Speaking terribly to myself- I would never have used those words with others
– Sleeping less than 6 hours a night most nights
– Not making fun free time to enjoy what I love
– Not making time for friends and chilling out
I remember my Controller Peter taking me out to lunch on the pretext of a work meeting and lecturing me on the importance of taking a break. His exact words were, “If you don’t take care of yourself, who will?”
I thought Peter had lost his mind. We were in the midst of a startup crisis and he was talking about crazy things like breaks.
Well, two health crisis later, I humbly bow to Peter’s wisdom. Stress will kill you. Not prioritizing your state of body, mind, and soul will lead to disease and health crisis. That’s what all these great studies including the Blue Zones study have validated.
On a plane ride to Houston in 2016, I came up with #MeFirst listening to the air hostess remind us to put our masks on first. As a mother, if you fall sick your entire family pays the price. It’s actually your responsibility to put the mask on you first! Hence the #MeFirst
So, how much of this can you relate to?
Are you a Mom that is so busy pleasing others that she has no time for herself? Did you ever make time for yourself? Do you recall what made you smile and laugh in true inner joy?
What is the stress level you face daily? Do you wake up relaxed, smiling, full of energy? If not, there’s a gift you MUST give yourself this Mother’s Day!
It’s the gift of “MeFirst”!
The gift of experiencing 10 – 60 minutes of pure bliss and joy EVERY SINGLE DAY.
The gift of health by scheduling in mini-vacations and “me time” daily!
How can you do that? Easy!
Make a list of 10 to 50 things that make you truly laugh, smile or get giddy with happiness. Then schedule them into your calendar daily. Don’t just make the list and pine for them, make them happen by putting them on your calendar.
I call it my daily Mini-Vacation and it starts with the mindset of “MeFirst”.
Here’s a fun list of things that bring me serious joy:
#1 Zumba – I schedule it in twice a week as my dance outlet
#2 Bikram yoga- once a week to get high (it’s my weed, not kidding)
#3 Baking cake – once a week I bake for my taste buds
#4 Bubble baths- once a week, in the afternoon with a good book
#5 Foot massage- hated it at first, now it’s a monthly scheduled trip
#6 Rom-com – yes I will actually watch one by myself monthly
#7 Sitting under a tree – you gotta try it, seriously zen
#8 Retreats – one a year at least I head out for serious self-care
#9 Singing – we joined a karaoke group so I can sing badly very loudly lol
#10 Meditation – it changed my life, its scheduled in daily!
My list is vanilla, I get joy from the simplest things.
What brings you a giggle or smile?
Share your list with me on Twitter with Mom’s gift yourself this Mother’s Day #MeFirst so we can all share ideas on how to give the greatest gift of all to ourselves this Mother’s Day- the gift of health through self-care!
ps- if you are thinking where am I going to find the time? Its because you are prioritizing everything else ahead of you. Start with scheduling in your mini-vacation daily, then schedule everything else around it. Seriously, try it. Now!
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