Nurturing yourself | Self Talk

What does love look like?

Well it can be big like letting someone live with you until they get back on their feet
or it can be small like sharing a smile with a stranger at the grocery store.
While I'm striving to love more on others, I find that I need to love a little on me too.
It honestly fuels me to be even more giving to others.
Its about really trying to be your own best friend.
Often I find it easy to be encouraging to others but not as much to myself.
Really start separating yourself and say "if my best friend was experiencing this what would I tell her?" 

Developing positive self talk is a critical part nurturing yourself.

1.  It starts with awareness.
You need to start paying attention to how you think.
Negative thoughts can creep up like a ninja in the night, you don't even know they're there.
It so easy to think you can't do something or its too difficult but anytime you
catch yourself saying this, turn your "can't" into "can's".
 If you don't believe it is possible then it is definitely impossible.
Become your own personal cheerleader :)

2. Bring on the positive affirmations. 
One way I've done this is to use post-it notes.
I'll write little positive affirmations and stick them on the bathroom mirror, inside a cabinet door,
anywhere you will see them throughout the day.
The key is not to ignore them, when you see it, say it outloud to yourself.
I know, you're worried you'll look like a crazy person saying these things to yourself but really,
aren't you worth it?  Yes, you are!

Alright, say them silently if you must but stop what your doing for
just a split second and truly focus on what it says.

3. Take a look around you. 
What type of people do you spend your time with?
Do you work in a negative environment?  Just close your door, or do you're best not to
chit chat with the complainers.  I'm not saying to be rude to them, just don't prolong
or encourage the negative conversation.  Is there negativity in your house?
Try to sit down with your spouse/family and have an honest discussion about
what the negativity does to you and politely ask for everyone's effort to look on the bright side.
I guarantee everyone will see the benefits immediately.
We have seen this in our own home.
When we're all on board, it's amazing how much happier we all are. 

4. Break it down.  
If your like me, all the responsibilities and commitments come
 crashing down on you and you're freaking out before you know it.  Take a deep breath.
Count to 10 (these really do work!).  Focus on what you can do right now.
This takes the focus off of what you can't control and brings it back onto what you can.
And when you feel like you can achieve some sort of small accomplishment,
you'll feel less overwhelmed and more empowered.

5. Give it to God.
You are a unique being that was created out of pure love.
When you really start to believe that, your life will change.
Pray on it.  Don't be afraid to ask God to help you see yourself as He sees you.
This is something I struggled with for a while, feeling like I was not "worthy" of love,
success, happiness.  But the Truth shall set you free.

I urge you to really reflect on how you speak to yourself and
encourage you to be kind to that girl in the mirror.

I leave you with one final thought....

Happy Wednesday friends!

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Beautiful You: Nurturing yourself

"I've got to get it together, or we're all going to fall apart."

I can't tell you how many times I've said this to myself over the past year.

Truth is, I CAN'T do it all.  

It should be a relief just to let myself rest in that fact, and it partially is but there is more to it than 

that because I will inevitably end up trying to do it all again.

Something needs to change...and odds are it will be more than one thing.

I've been seeing all the New Year resolutions going around and feeling sorta guilty about mine,

but I've decided to stop that :)  Who needs another guilt trip anyway?

I need to take care of myself.

I want to take care of myself.

I will take care of myself.

As women we tend put pressure on ourselves to make sure everyone's needs are met.  I'm not saying to abandon taking care of others, we just can't forget to take care of ourselves in the process.

And that's exactly what I have done.  Forgotten me.  Have you forgotten you too?

"Women are usually taught from an early age about the importance of nurturing and taking care of others. Mothers generally focus on meeting the needs of the children, husband, and household before addressing their needs. Simultaneously, society and the media send women the message that they must be perfect. They are given the message they need to be thin, beautiful, young, perfectly dressed, and in all ways flawless."

It became very clear over the past few months that my body has been telling me 

that this is all too much (physically and emotionally), but I wasn't listening.  I just kept pushing through. What happens is that level of pain/discomfort becomes your new "normal" and you will operate in that condition until it becomes worse and then the cycle of pushing through will start all over again, and the new level becomes your new "normal"....again.

Enough.

We are important too.
We will better be able to serve others if we are cared for.

"As parents, we get caught up in the family fast track. We are consumed by school, homework, little league, karate, dance class, and on and on. There is little time left to focus on self-care. Parents get caught in this cycle and neglect relationship building needs. There is little or no attention given to meet their own personal physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual needs. There is no time left for themselves, much less relationships."

 "Ultimately, it is when we connect and address our needs that we can find balance and happiness. When this happens, we can give to others from a full heart. In other words, we can enhance our relationships by taking care of ourselves."

So it's time for a ME over-haul.
Physical, emotional, and spiritual.

I'll be sharing some tips and my experiences along the way.  

They may help you too, at least I hope they will.
Let's refill our love tanks so we can give more freely and sincerely from them.

 *Quotes in this post taken from here.