self-care during the holidays
on this episode of small steps to self-love…
For most, the holidays are a time of giving thanks, spending time with family and loved ones, exchanging gifts, donating to charity. But for many, the holidays also bring up a lot of hard emotions. Maybe you’re not close with family or you’re missing loved ones. There's a lot of pressure around the holidays to call family and call friends and catch up with them and get the right presents for everybody, and we can quickly fall to the bottom of our To Do List during this season and forget about ourselves.
So for this episode, I wanted to share a reminder with everyone: we know that being kind and compassionate and getting things for other people and seeing their reaction, all of that feels so good, but it's amazing for our self-love too. So why don’t we do it for ourselves more often?
I feel like self-love and giving yourself gifts often feels selfish. Like why would I spend this money on myself when I could do something for someone else? Or why am I spending this time on myself when I have other people that I could be spending my time on? But treating ourselves with kindness and compassion is incredible for our self-love too. It reconnects you with yourself, makes you remember what you love and what you enjoy. It is a form of rest, and we need rest, especially in such a busy holiday time.
small step
With this episode’s focus being kindness, for this week’s small step, I want you to show kindness to someone else and to yourself. A small random act of kindness to a loved one, to a stranger, but you also have to refill your own cup. You give to others; you have to give to yourself and do something for yourself too.
It doesn't need to be spending a ton of money or a ton of time on anything. It can be treating yourself to a nap during the day when you normally don't take the time to, or watching a yoga video on youtube and taking 30 minutes to yourself to relax. Maybe it's cooking your favorite meal or buying yourself flowers at the store, something small. It’s not selfish to spend time on yourself, it’s important to refill your cup.
I want to give you a reminder from page 87 of changing with the tides, my mental health poetry book. This is a short one but one that I love.
Be still. Breathe. The earth will continue to spin even if you are not pushing it.
Doesn't it sometimes feel like we are truly pushing the earth? Like we are carrying the earth on our shoulders with how much we have on our plates? If we stop we feel like our lives are going to crumble if we take time off work if we are constantly moving toward our next goal or accomplishment. The earth will continue to spin. Your life will continue to go on. Your loved ones will be fine. Take a break, take a moment to yourself. Pause. Breathe. Do a meditation class. It will be okay. This is your reminder that everything will be okay.
where to listen
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I hope that you will take some time over the next week over the coming weeks and months as we get into the holidays to slow down, remember that the world will continue to spin. Remember that you can give and give and give to others, you can only give so much until you are empty and you need to be refilled. Remember how amazing it feels to treat others with kindness and compassion and give to others, and do that same thing for yourself. Self-love and self-care is not selfish.