Blog Posts

Not Finished Yet!

welcome june

Well it is officially June first!  We are half way through this year and this is the ideal time to stop and reflect about where you were when you started this year, and what things in your life you may need to reassess.  I am sure that most of us made resolutions, promises to ourselves or others or plans that we were going to carry through this year.  Many of us created vision boards, outlined our goals and we may have even gotten accountability partners.  My question to everyone is how successful have you been in you 2015 planning?

Whatever it was that you planned to do this year, whether it was to lose weight, de-clutter your house, make a career change, take a class, start dating, whatever the plan was, it may have been difficult to follow through.  For others, the year may have started off with a bang.  You may have been in the gym every day, you may have been eating right and you may have even gotten one of the closets in your house clean.  Then life happened.  You missed one day at the gym that turned in to two and then you worked late and stopped at the local fast food restaurant for a quick meal and all of your good planning and hard work was over.  But just know that it is never too late to start again.

half year

June is a great time to begin fresh.  It is the halfway point of the year and provides an opportunity to rest the clock and start fresh.  June allows us the opportunity to recalibrate our visions and goals for ourselves and make the rest of the year the best of the year.  While we cannot get the time back that was missed, we can begin fresh and start on a clean slate.  And what better benchmark that the half way point of the year.

So pull out those vision boards, and goal worksheets.  Find an accountability partner or hire a coach.  Make some revisions.  Make sure that your goals follow the SMART acronym S. Specific, M. Measurable, A. Attainable, R.  Realistic, T.  Timely.  Make sure that you do not take on more than you can realistically handle.  Ask for assistance when needed.  Make the extra time that may also be needed to be successful.  Most importantly be true and honest with yourself.

vision board1

Remember, just as quickly as we reached June you will blink twice and it will be December.  Pace yourself and make the best of what is left of this year.  Remember you cannot re live tomorrow but you can make the best of each day that comes.  I look forward to walking into our destinies together!

Doing for YOU!

be good to yourself

A recent conversation with my female co-workers moved to the topic of what we do to care for ourselves.  One co-worker was preparing to get her first bikini wax for her new husband.  While there is absolutely nothing wrong with that we got into the conversation about grooming and it made me wonder what do we do for ourselves,  not for our partners, our children or others.  What do we do to care for ourselves.

I know that when I was celibate I got my first and only bikini wax.  No one told me to not wear jeans, and no one told me to prepare for hours of throbbing.  While the pain subsided I was very aware of the fact that something happened.  But I did it for me.  There was not the big date, the new spouse or the anticipation of what was to come.  It was simply something I wanted to try and something I wanted to do for myself.

Other than that experience, my self care practices have always been apart of my regular routine.  Whether it be going to the spa several times a year (I try for quarterly) or whether it is the bi-weekly trip to the nail salon for the mani-pedi, I try to take those moments away from everything to enjoy myself and to get some respite from the day to day grind that life brings.  Now those are thing that I do that cost money.

Relax and De-Stress_1

I love baths.  There is nothing like lounging in the hot tub either by candle light or with a good book.  Or maybe it is a bath with a glass of wine or essential oils.  Maybe it is an old school bath with bubbles or epsom salts.  Whatever type of bath it may be there is nothing that can take the edge off like a hot bath. Another thing that can be done at home is an evening cup of tea. I keep a variety of flavored teas in my house.  Some nights after a long day, there is nothing like grabbing my favorite mug and selecting the flavor of tea I wish to indulge in for the evening.  The most important thing I do for my self is prayer and meditation.  This is something that can be done anywhere, anytime, just take the time to get still and to spend that quality, quiet time with yourself and your higher power.

teapot

No matter what you do or how you do it, it is important to be good to yourself.  It is important to make the time and do something for yourself.  It is important to practice self-care because it is important for your mental, emotional and physical well being.  Self care is not a selfish practice, it is more about self love and recharging so you have more to give.  Loving yourself is the best you can do before loving anything else.  So the next time you have a hard day or the next time you are feeling stressed, think about what you can do to give the best care for yourself.

time for you