Never mind your dog, have you hugged yourself today? (I kid, I kid – no animals were harmed in the production of this blog!)

Self-Care. Finally. Women are now realizing they truly need to provide self-care or they will not have a quality of life that is productive and anxiety-free. Women are comfortable say they need to “take five” or need for an occasional day of bliss.  Healthcare providers, the beauty industry, and the Me-Too movement influencers, just to name a few, are talking about why we need self-care.  It is past time to raise the bar on the superwomen model and truly ensure they do this in a way that is not harmful or overly stressful or just leaving them feeling worn to a frazzle some days.  So how do we do that?  First, it starts with mindfulness.  Changing lifelong habits is hard.  Many of our actions are simply reactive; responding to someone else’s need, or ask, or crisis that does not belong to us.

There are many different ways you can engage in self-nurturing. Self-care begins in the mind, with being mindful about what we allow to intrude on our positive mindset. Some aspect of self-care can take place during moments of introspection and may look like this:

Feeling grateful after enduring an event you felt anxious about.  You made it through so reward yourself with some real self-care – perhaps you should make that overdue doctor’s appointment.

Overcoming negativity by finding something positive about every situation.  You stood in line 30 minutes longer than you intended.  Find ways to turn waiting times inactivity.  Your waistline and heart will love you.

Coping with your traumas by drawing from your inner strengths and power.  Talking to a sister, friend, or colleague may be a way of you sharing but not really needing to ask for help.  Many times, after voicing our fear or worry out loud, we realize we had the answer all along. Trust yourself. In case no one said it today, you are amazing.

Understand that what you are going through is just a speed bump; it’s just a moment in time and does not define you. Look forward to what you expect the upshot of your situation will look like. 

Self-healing – Learn the art of self-massage. Or tapping. Humming and rocking can be soothing. Mediation has been a healing practice through the ages. Find ways to self-soothe and relax. You earned it.

Any or all of the above strategies are ways you can begin taking care of yourself. There are of course many other feel-good things we can do on the daily. What we need to do is to treat ourselves better so we can continue achieving our dreams and having enough energy to enjoy our successes!

I also invite you to check out the companion Morning Moxie video, same title, as well as many other motivational videos. Please be sure to visit my YouTube Channel and check out the Morning Moxie with Larisa playlist.