A Daily Dose of Self-Nurturing and A Date with Yourself

From the moment you first awaken, until you drop exhausted into bed at the end of another crazy day, life can crash in on you at every turn, as you meet obligations, expectations, demands, and more at home, at work, and everywhere in between.  It’s so easy for the days to blur into weeks into months.  And all the while, who’s taking care of you?

It’s time.

Let’s start with baby steps.  It’s a little thing I call “Nurture 900”, or #nurture900.  900 represents 900 seconds, or 15 minutes.  Fifteen scant minutes.  1.042% of your day.  Surely you can commit to giving one percent of your day to your own health, wellness and self -care, yes?  What can you do in 15 minutes to cultivate your relaxation, joy and peace?  Sit down and have a cup of coffee/tea, read a few pages in a book/magazine, step outside for a walk, or how about just putting your feet up and not doing a blessed thing for a whole fifteen minutes???  Sound like a micro-vacation?  Good!  Block off 15 minutes a day on your calendar.

Once you have scheduled that, now let’s take it one step further.  Ready?

Grab that calendar and give it a good once-over for February.  Find a day.  If necessary, even just half a day.  Now block it off.  Yes, the entire half or full day.  Girlfriend, that is now YOUR DAY WITH YOUR VALENTINE – YOU!  This is your official “BYOB” date.  What?  OF COURSE YOU CAN!  Give yourself permission to invest in yourself.  Plan something that you love and will look forward to doing.  Maybe it’s a visit to someplace you’ve been wanting to go, or your favorite restaurant or place (for example, I love to go to a local lake and just sit (and when it’s cold I sit in the car), with a big cup of coffee and my journal, and some music from my phone’s playlist).  It could be that simple.  Perhaps a workshop or class you’ve been thinking about attending or learning.  Go alone or invite a friend.  But do something that feeds your soul and, as a current trendy phrase says, sparks joy for you.  See?  I’ll bet you’ve already got a picture of it in your head, don’t you?  Just thinking about it calms you down, doesn’t it?

Remember, it isn’t sinful or selfish to build in time for you!  One of my favorite truths is:

“You can’t pour from an empty cup.” 

Go get to filling your cup, a little each day, and a big dose at least once a month. 

It’s time.

Blessings,

Linda