I hope you’re following along as we countdown the final 100 days of 2022 - you can join us anytime. Learn more about the program HERE.

Our days are full to the brim with competing priorities.  Unless we create the time and space to work on relationships, they can falter.  But it must start with taking care of you first.

I know this has been overused in many self-development books, but I’m going to say it anyway…when you’re on an airplane there’s a reason you are told to put your oxygen mask on first.  If you don’t care for yourself, you can’t care for others.  While I know I’m generalizing, my experience has been that most women who are caretakers for children or other family members, tend to put their own self-care needs on the back burner.  It seems to be written our DNA.  And for those who were raised in the 1960s or before, this type of martyr philosophy was handed down from our mothers and grandmothers with a large dose of guilt as if it were a rite of passage.  And it shouldn’t be.  Taking care of ourselves is NOT selfish and there should be no guilt associated with it.  We matter as much as the people we care for.

If you are someone who has a regular self-care routine – that’s wonderful!  You’re already ahead of the game.  If you do not have a self-care routine or are somewhere in the middle, it’s time to change that.

Grab your notebook!  Time to create a manageable and affordable self-care regimen.

There is no right or wrong way to develop a self-care regimen, it’s all about personal preference, what is affordable and how much time you have to devote to it.  Like any goal, if it isn’t manageable then you won’t stick with it.  To get your creative thoughts flowing, here are some ideas:

• Schedule a monthly massage, facial, and/or nail appointment for the remainder of the year.

• Purchase bath salts in your favorite fragrance and commit to an uninterrupted bubble bath one night a week.  While in the tub, don’t forget your book/magazine, candle, beloved beverage, or even catch up on your favorite show via an iPad set up on the bathroom counter.

• Get to the gym at least twice a week and pick up a healthy smoothie on your way home.

• Purchase a flower every Sunday and have it in a bud vase on your desk for the week.

• Give yourself an at-home pedicure one night a week.

• Create a weekly menu of your favorite foods in advance.

Please share below what are you going to do this week to care for yourself?