Happy first Monday of the new year!!! I took some much needed downtime over the last couple of weeks to catch my breath and just kick my feet up, and I hope you had a chance to do the same. From Thanksgiving until last weekend, every last one of us in the family came down with either a cold or some type of virus (hubby didn’t even make it to Thanksgiving dinner because he had it so bad). So it was confirmation that I needed to give myself permission to take a break.
How often do you give yourself permission to take a break? Trust me…I know how the house doesn’t clean itself, the kids don’t feed themselves, the laundry doesn’t fold itself (although that would surely be a great invention), the errands don’t run themselves…I get it. But guess what? You can’t do anything if you’re run down, sick, exhausted, etc. If you haven’t been making yourself a priority, I challenge you to do so this year by creating a lifestyle change. Start small but start today. Make time for yourself because self-care is not an option, it’s your obligation. YOU are important! This self-care challenge will help you put it into practice.
In my book, Whose Shoes Are You Wearing, I talk about the importance of putting ourselves back at the top of our list of priorities. When we have an important client, project, doctor’s appointment or other engagement, we do everything in our power to get there and get it done. Why is it so hard for us to keep the same integrity when it comes to ourselves? Are we not as important as everyone and everything else else? I say we are. You are. It took me a little while to get that, but it feels so good to make my self-care a choice.
I talk to my kids all the time about my “mommy breaks”. In fact, just the other day, my seven-year-old son asked me when I was going to go do my “mommy thing”? I try to be very intentional about incorporating my kids and explaining to them what I do and why I do it. It’s much easier to acknowledge and handle the mom guilt when you put it all out on the table. They know that I don’t love them any less just because I take a break to spend time by myself.
Last January, I kicked off the year with a 31 day FLY (First Love Yourself) Mom Challenge. I enjoyed the challenge because it forced me to pay attention to the things that I was allowing to suck up precious time that I could be spending on recharging myself. Now, whether you’re a mom or not, we all need to get in the habit of taking better care of ourselves. So I encourage everyone to do the challenge along with me. Check out the prompts below!
Do you make it a habit to take quality time out of your schedule for yourself? What would you do more of if you had more time?
16 Comments
MJ
January 5, 2015 at 10:48 AMPssst Hey! I need you to know I came to the blog a few times this year to see if this was happening for 2015. This challenge was where you and I first connected! I loved it and I love you for it!!! I’m on it again.
Christine St.Vil
January 5, 2015 at 11:09 PMOMG MJ, I could never forget!!! You were truly the most dedicated and I absolutely loved connecting with you over this challenge! Aww it’s our 1 year anniversary 🙂 Thanks so much for all your love and support this past year. Now we can hold each other accountable 🙂
Nicole
January 5, 2015 at 10:48 AMI really enjoyed this post and could relate sooo much. Sometimes you work so hard that you just say you know what, I deserve this break! Exactly how I felt after my workout and dinner, time to unwind :-).
Christine St.Vil
January 5, 2015 at 11:10 PMYessss absolutely Nicole! It takes practice to get to that point, especially when it’s not something you’re used to. But the reward is GREAT! Good for you, keep unwinding girlie 🙂
Thriftanista in the City
January 5, 2015 at 11:38 AMSo true. I’m all about self care. Those are some great suggestions! Thanks for sharing.
Christine St.Vil
January 5, 2015 at 11:10 PMHi Thriftanista, thanks so much for stopping by and so glad to hear you’re already a part of the FLY lifestyle 🙂
Carin Kilby Clark
January 5, 2015 at 6:11 PMI love this challenge! It's so important that self-care remain a priority – and I love how you said the kids are in on it too! I always try to make my kids a part of what I'm doing so they understand and also appreciate the benefits… a happy mom = happy kids! Haha
Christine St.Vil
January 5, 2015 at 11:12 PMHey Carin!!! Yes indeed! I realized early on that I struggled more with the mom guilt because I wasn’t including them on anything I was doing. Now, they understand it and they expect it (and as you can see, sometimes encourage it LOL). Whew, yes momma’s gotta be happy! LOL
Rachee
January 5, 2015 at 4:09 PMI have been walking everyday for a mile and love it! It’s time just for me and makes me feel so good. I love this list and can spare 31 minutes for some light and fun.
Christine St.Vil
January 5, 2015 at 11:13 PMThat’s awesome Rachee! I’m working on defining my fitness schedule and goals because I feel fantastic when I workout, it’s just getting to that point. LOL But I’m going to start with 31 min cause it’s manageable to me 😉
Some ME Time
January 6, 2015 at 1:43 AMI absolutely love this read, it's screaming Some ME Time. My kids too understand the importance of my "Mommy breaks" and I am teaching my husband that "wife breaks" are a necessity. I love this and will be utilizing it as a daily routine! Thank you
Christine St.Vil
January 5, 2015 at 11:15 PMAwww love, love your name and page. We will definitely have to connect. And yes, wife breaks are a necessity as well but they weren’t as hard to come by as the mommy breaks initially LOL Thanks so much for stopping by, and keep me posted on how you incorporate the challenge into your routine.
Bernetta
January 5, 2015 at 10:51 PMI think it’s a good idea and much needed for us busy moms.
I hope more women join the challenge and be FLY!!
Bernetta would like you to check out…We Turned Off Our Cable for the Summer & Now Have No Plans of Turning it Back On
Christine St.Vil
January 5, 2015 at 11:16 PMThanks so much Bernetta! I know you completely understand the need. I definitely hope more moms are encouraged to FLY as well 🙂
Christine St.Vil
January 6, 2015 at 4:18 AMHey Carin!!! Yes indeed! I realized early on that I struggled more with the mom guilt because I wasn’t including them on anything I was doing. Now, they understand it and they expect it (and as you can see, sometimes encourage it LOL). Whew, yes momma’s gotta be happy! LOL
Christine St.Vil
January 6, 2015 at 4:19 AMAwww love, love your name and page. We will definitely have to connect. And yes, wife breaks are a necessity as well but they weren’t as hard to come by as the mommy breaks initially LOL Thanks so much for stopping by, and keep me posted on how you incorporate the challenge into your routine.