If you’re depended upon by family, friends, your job, more often than not you find yourself greatly overwhelmed and in need of a break. This is because you are running on auto-pilot of give, give, give, never once realizing that in order to give you must have something to give.
In order to be an effective caregiver, you must be aware that your needs must always come first. It is crucial that self-care awareness be that center from where you operate on a daily basis.
Businesses and Organizations Involved In The Movement To Promoting Self-Care Awareness
I wonder who came up with this saying? Giving is Better Than Receiving. I do understand that giving does release the flow of endorphins in the brain that makes the giver happy. Unfortunately, we’re not always giving from a full cup. We have become a society of sadistic obligation. Even receiving has been tainted with the phrase, “hand out” which causes the receiver to feel either ashamed or less than deserving.
There are always two sides to every matter. Life operates on the concept of “give and take”. To exhale, I must inhale. To teach, I must learn. To sow, I must also reap. If it is understood in these areas that one needs the other for balance. Why do we find it difficult to grasp the concept that in order for me to give, I must then receive?
More Businesses And Organizations Involved In The Movement To Promoting Self-Care Awareness
Self-Care Awareness Is The First Step Toward Self-Love
The word “LOVE” can be tricky. After all, its meaning can be super vague so I’ll just try to narrow it down here to mean “unconditional concern of well-being”. This concern could be of your well-being or the well-being of another, the target word here is “unconditional”.
How many of us can actually say that we show ourselves unconditional concern of our own well-being? Sure, we may show this concern for our family members, and some may even show this level of concern for a friend. But rarely do many of us show unconditional concern of our own well-being simply because we’ve been taught to always put the needs of others before our own.
In this fast-paced and busy world, it is extremely easy to forget about yourself and your needs for maintaining a healthy body, mind, and spirit. But it is vital that you show yourself that “unconditional concern for your own well-being” to maintain effectively the health and wellness of those who also depend on you. I found in this article some excellent tips that will get you moving in the right direction of practicing self-care awareness in your life today. 5 Simple Steps Towards Self-Care You Need To Practice Today!
Print off this calendar, place it on your cubicle wall in front of you, or wherever you’ll see it. Or, download it to have available at all times.
I’m curious. Leave your comments below and tell me how you’re incorporating these Self-Care tips into your daily routine. I’ll keep you posted as well. And please subscribe for more tips, offers, and tools on how to make “self” top priority. Happy Self-Care Awareness Month!
Imperfection, believe it or not, is not the opposite of perfection, Instead, imperfection is the state of acceptance of self through love. Without seeing who you truly are, you would never know what’s necessary to change as well as what’s necessary to keep. Perfectionism just causes everything to appear quite murky in our world. Here are 5 sure ways to allow yourself to live as you are to ultimately find that much-coveted freedom in imperfection.
I Am Free To Be Me
Freedom In Imperfection
“Accept me as I am!” has been the battle cry of so many of us throughout the ages. Proclaiming this does not mean that a person never sets out to change detrimental habits, nor does it mean that a person is promoting laziness or a lack of ambition. What it does mean, however, is that this individual has attempted to accept him or herself wherever it is that he or she stands in hope of getting that same acceptance from others. There are things that a person will come to like about him or herself, and there are things that he or she will come to hate as well. If you are paying attention you will see that it all works together, the so-called good and the bad, to ultimately bring about the person that you are striving to become.
True change in your life begins as an act of love. You can lose weight when you love who you are right now at your current weight. This means that your life, self-esteem, and happiness are never tied to any outside condition. Anything done out of self-hate doesn’t usually last because you are always criticizing your efforts. Operating from this mindset often leads to self-sabotage which ends up perpetuating more of the same self-hate. Nothing is ever good enough because you start off not liking anything about yourself from the beginning.
There is nothing at all healthy about that type of lifestyle. Embracing your imperfections is celebrating what makes you unique. And to do this, you must become reacquainted with yourself through a series of steps that will show you your own personal value that has always been waiting to be re-discovered by you all along.
5 Ways To Find Freedom In Imperfection
Take some time to do some serious introspection. Don’t be afraid to look at yourself honestly. Write down what is positive about yourself and what is negative. Find ways to change the wording of those negatives so they are now reflecting positive aspects that you can now embrace. If you think that your nose on your face is big, try shifting your thinking by seeing your “natural” features as your very own unique brand. Play on your unique brand by finding successfully, fun hacks that will make your nose appear smaller. Create a medium where you first show off your big nose unapologetic. Have fun with it. This will require a lot of reconditioning from what the majority of society has said is beautiful, but if we are each to have a healthy acceptance of “self” then we will need to remove a lot of damaging societal programming.
When you discover what you do like and don’t and stay true to it as often as you can, you will find it easier to be able to give an honest answer to someone inviting you to an event or activity you’d rather not attend. Saying no, and being okay about it is a much-needed step to living authentically with your flaws and all. You don’t have to do and be what everyone else thinks you should be.
Don’t be afraid to try something different like dressing in bold colors, or changing your hairstyle. Experiment a little, and be willing to embrace whatever comes of the situation. Do the change for yourself only, not for the reaction of others.
Laugh more. Laughter promotes and releases those “feel good” endorphins. Take time out of your busy schedule to have a boatload of fun on purpose. Most importantly, rest. Relaxing often reduces stress which promotes a healthy immune system.
Explore your creative side. Being creative doesn’t always mean painting a portrait, or writing your first novel. You can tap into your creativity by helping someone put together a financial or stock portfolio, or by simply doing yard work. Doing an act that excites you, whatever it is, stimulates your heart and mind together which will get the juices flowing, causing you to become more creative in other areas of your life.
Allow yourself to be human, flawed and free by embracing your imperfect life, perfectly.
What do you do to override the current conditioning to accepting yourself and to become more authentic? Let us know by leaving a comment below. Subscribe today and receive more positive lifestyle, changing hacks, and tools.
Forming new habits can be intimidating at times, but they really don’t have to be. We all have moments where we yearn to change certain aspects in our lives for the better. This could be in the way of eating healthier, drinking more water, meditating, saving money, making more friends, getting out more, the list can go on and on. The fact is, there are so many areas in our lives that can be improved and made a whole lot simpler if only we created new habits.
Getting into the habit, however, is often easier said than done. It seems that we acquire bad habits without any effort, but establishing “good” or “healthy” habits can, at times, be more of a challenge.
Well, what I’ve listed here are 3 simple tips that will help make a new habit stick.
Make The New Habit Stick By Being Specific About How You’re Going To Make The Change
Tip #1: . Once you’ve decided to, let’s say, “lose weight” break down this goal into specific actions. For example, write down that you will go for a walk, or ride your bike at a specific time of the day (morning at 7a.m., or evening at 7 p.m.).
Also, write down a meal plan and keep it simple like, fruit and oatmeal for breakfast, and baked chicken and veggies for dinner. Designate times for your water intake: 7:30a.m., 10:00a.m., 12:30p.m., and so on. Being as specific as possible and staying committed to the actions is half the battle to deciding on a new habit and making a new habit stick..
Keep Reminding Yourself Of Your Goal
Tip #2: As you’re settling into your new found habit, the momentum begins to build because of your motivation and excitement. But like always, busy-ness gets in the way, and before you know it you’re right back into that old, wretched habit.
Before letting this happen, write little reminders on sticky notes and place them strategically around your house, in your lunch box, on your car dash, wherever you know you will see them. Setting an alert in your phone is also a great way to reminding yourself of your goal and making it easier for you to be a success at making a new habit stick.
Change Up Your Routine To Implement Your New Habit
Tip #3: For most of us, it usually takes some time before a new habit sticks. So, to make your new behavior become a true habit, implementing it in your every day routine will definitely work to your best advantage. Doing so will ultimately help the new behavior fall into place without you having to put much willpower into it, nor rely on many daily reminders.
By doing this, make that daily walk or bike ride a part of your after dinner routine instead of turning on the television. When visiting the vending machine for a snack at 10:00 in the morning, pack a healthier snack and eat that instead. You’ll be surprised how much easier staying committed to making your new habit stick when you’ve pre-set your changes for implementation into your already established daily routines.
For more insight and tips on how to make more life-empowering changes in your life for the better, click here.
Congratulations! You’re on your way to making your new habit stick! By deciding to create the new habit and establishing a routine until it’s second nature, you’ll be well on your way to breaking all of those other tired, old habits to paving your way to a brand new you.
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It’s not always easy giving others your kindness and patience when they’re not giving you theirs, but it’s not at all impossible to do, either. In this blog, I want to share a few tips on how to give your best when you find others giving you the worst version of themselves.
As society continues to “modernize” it will also continue to provide us with many distractions. The many distractions that we endure on a regular basis will cause, overtime, a lack of focus as well as anxieties which eventually leads to short tempers. But we do have a choice. We can either always stay plugged into the world’s chatterbox, or unplug every chance we get to use the quiet time for self reflection.
Since I’ve written before about “thoughts becoming things” and also how huge a role emotions play in this process, I’m not going to elaborate on this topic in great detail here. However, I do wish to stress the importance of at least understanding this basic concept. Thoughts, along with emotions, do create everything that is experienced. There is no-thing that is experienced by us without our magnetizing or attracting the thing/experience into our vortex, or electromagnetic field. So, whatever it is that you are experiencing right now whether you perceive it to be good or bad, understand that you’ve attracted the experience by your constant thoughts (beliefs) and emotions (fear/allowance) that you are projecting out into the world.
If someone is giving me their worst (their yelling and contentious behavior, as well as their lying and deceit), there is a vibration that I am resonating on that is lining up with the same slow, dense frequency the other person is also choosing to emit. It really is just that simple. No, I may not be thinking lies and deceit but I may frequently be worried, angry or sad about something. These thoughts and emotions, when practiced on a regular basis, will ultimately place me in the vicinity of experiences emitted from others with similar thoughts and emotions. When thoughts and emotions become chronically warped due to excessive fear-based thinking such as worry, guilt, and insecurity, the experiences to be had will have no choice but to mirror the incessantly warped belief system I am choosing to practice on a daily basis.
Coming to terms with the idea that I can choose what I experience by what I choose to think and feel, empowers me because I know that if I am not readily enjoying my experience I can change it as easily as changing my thoughts. Old, stubborn beliefs and practices are often hard to break, no doubt, but with focused intention, old patterns begin to fall away with new and healthy ones taking their place.
How To Give Your Best In Any Situation
To give your best when others give their worst will be a challenge at first. Hopefully by making a few adjustments to your perception, readily presenting the highest version of yourself in any situation, over time, will become a lot easier.
Two groups of people exist in this world, and they are:
Those who are aware of their potential to create their own lives, and
Those who believe that life is happening to them.
People who are aware of their potential to create are people who make life happen. These people are not necessarily those who society would label the “go getters” of this world but are the people who truly understand the workings of how the inner world operates. These people know who they are, they are always aware that they have choices, and these are the people who have learned one of the most valuable lessons of all – how to stop taking life so personal,
People who believe that life is happening to them often fail to see that choices are always available to them in every situation. Usually they’ll have a “victim mentality” and tend to blame others for their unwanted experiences. Rising above the “tit for tat” mode to reach for a higher way of being can be extremely difficult when a person is operating from this mode of thinking, but there’s always a possibility for change.
When a person is ready to make that leap from victim to victor, here are just a few practical tips that I use myself to rise to the occasion of giving my best when someone has chosen to give their absolute worst.
Tips On How To Give Your Best
In Any Situation
Tip #1: To Thy Own Self Be True
When I made a promise to always be true to myself years ago, I found myself falling short of that promise a lot. In the beginning I had vowed to stay the course of my dreams but often found myself off my path for want of trying to please someone else. As I began to notice my stagnating life, I knew I had to change. Eventually I realized why it was so easy for me to get off course. It was because I really didn’t know who I was and what I really wanted.
Knowing who I am is crucial to knowing what I want in life. I know now that I am an inquisitive person and I like learning new things. So, I try to be very aware of the situations I put myself in. Whether it’s in a relationship or a job, if I can’t ask questions and I’m not permitted to grow in it then I know that it’s not for me and I’ll have to move on.
I also know that I am a peaceful person and I’d rather solve things in a peaceful fashion. If I’m then in a situation where I know that the other party is not wanting what I want, do I continue ignoring who I am and what I want? To give your best in every situation that you may find yourself in, ask yourself these two important questions. Who am I really? And, what do I really want?
Tip #2: Know That You Always Have A Choice
One of my pet-peeves in life is when people claim they don’t have a choice. There is one thing about life and that is Life will never ask to be lived without presenting a plethora of experiences to choose from. We may not be aware of the choices available to us but the choices, however, are always available in any given situation.
“What of the child born with a disability? What choice does she have?” Even in this situation the choice is clear. The child can either choose to live with the disability with dignity and grace, or choose to fight it every single day for the rest of his or her life. If we dare begin to look at things differently, the soul may have chosen the disabled body to understand life on a deeper level. One of my favorite authors once said something that has continued to stay with me even until now:
“If you don’t like it, change it. If you can’t change it then change your attitude about it.” – Maya Angelou
If I’m in a hostile situation where my ego is being threatened, I need to know that I do have a choice of whether to continue trying to protect my ego or understand that my ego does not need protected. I have a choice to either walk away from the hostile situation, or continue feeding the flame until the situation evolves to a point where I now need to protect my physical body. To give your best which would you decide?
Tip#3: Don’t Take Life So Personal
This tip is a lot more difficult to implement than the others. If you haven’t yet learned how to detach from your experiences, you will find yourself still subject to being tossed to and fro emotionally. When we fully understand that our soul’s (sole) purpose is to expand from the contrast that arises, we will see that every experience, individually and collectively experienced, is created by us and for us.
Again, our beliefs and emotions create everything that is experienced in our reality. The contrast that is a result of our creations is to be the gauge we are to use to tweak our reality(s) to our liking. If you want to be happy, never wait for anyone to come on the scene to make you happy. You have to start being happy. When your focus becomes being happy no matter where you go then you’ll easily begin to share that happiness everywhere you go.
When you are truly happy, the rude person who flips you off because he doesn’t like the way you drive won’t set you off. When you are in your happy place more than not you no longer see the behavior of others, when directed toward you, as something to be taken personal. You see it for what it truly is. They’re just simply not happy.
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I would love for you to leave a comment below to let me know how you give your best when others are giving you their worst.
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