Have you noticed an increase of tension in your life? From what I've been reading on my friends' Facebook posts, I know for certain I'm not the only one. We're living in a very stressful time. With increased anxiety and the feeling that so many issues are out of our control, it seems more people are on the verge of outrage, lashing out with anger, blame and hostile criticism. Whether you're the person lashing out, or the person being lashed, living with this much tension is not a sustainable.
Since our own lives are the only ones we can control, we've got to find ways to relieve stress and ease our pressure. When life gets stressful, self care is the first thing that suffers. We have to take better care of ourselves, so we can take care of everything else. This makes me think of my favorite RuPaul quote:
I found this article, Why Self Care is So Important, on Lifehacker.com that gave me a lot of insight into how I care for myself. (Check out this interactive self care game too!) I've always put projects and people before my own wellbeing, demanding my body work through the pain, run on poor nutritional choices, all without good sleep. Just last week, I put off lunch too long to finish a project, and crashed so hard it was challenging to get anything else done that day. That's not sustainable either.
I'm starting to recognize that self care isn't something for special occasions, or when I have time. It isn't a reward to give myself after the project is done. It's something I have to make time for every day, to take care of myself so I can take care of everything else I want to accomplish. I must take time every night to ice my knee so I can walk the next day. I've started tracking the protein grams I eat during the day so I'm giving my body the fuel it needs. Sure, that means I'm a little higher maintenance now, but I'm worth it.
Taking care of ourselves also means taking time out for merrymaking. What was the last thing you did just for fun of it? You have your Headmistress's permission to take break a go play at Riverfest this week or something else you love to do.
"Do something you love. That makes the world a better place. I'm just sure of it." - Marva Leela Weigelt
Now go outside and play!
Headmistress Jill