I know that title may seem humorous; however, these three things are often those that we fight against most!
First, grace. Grace is something that we receive from others and give to everyone but ourselves. We won't give ourselves the grace to rest, to not be okay, or do not have all the answers. We run ourselves into the ground ensuring that everyone else has everything they need then say we'll be alright – we won't be. We don't show it because we don't want them to worry. We stay up all night looking for solutions to their problems.
What if I told you that self-care isn't selfish and that giving yourself grace is probably the highest form of self-care there is?
What if I told you that giving yourself grace is the very foundation of self-care itself?
I said that one of the graces we don't give ourselves is the grace to rest and that brings me to my second self-care must-haves – naps! I understand that everyone's body rhythms are different, but a nap can save lives! Whether it's for a few minutes or an hour, giving yourself that uninterrupted time to reset will completely shift your day. Sometimes you don't realize how tired you are until you allow yourself to close your eyes and sit still.
We see a child taking a nap as a time of peace, so we need to claim that peace for ourselves!
Oh, and if you find it hard to sleep afterward, choose some other self-care activities that will help you to relax.
The final self-care must-have is cookies, which is the one thing that many of us are trying to avoid.
Stop that!
Here are three reasons why….
First, a cookie doesn't have to be a physical one. It is the thing that you do to pump yourself up, keep yourself motivated, and pick yourself up when it's a character-building day.
With that in mind, what is YOUR cookie?
Second, a cookie can be a different food. Everyone has their culinary guilty pleasures for those days when they'd rather have their mouth full instead of responding to the chaos around them. It could be anything from chocolate to fruit to fried chicken. It's whatever takes your mind off of the distractions of the hour.
Now what is your COOKIE?
Third, your favorite cookie serves one important self-care function. It helps you to form a rebuttal to chaos without you saying a word. The chewing motion helps you say all that you need to say, giving you a break to choose how and if you respond. See what I mean?
What's your FAVORITE cookie?
Your mind is racing and you're wondering if any of this will truly work for you.
My advice is to try it and see, but understand that giving yourself grace is ALWAYS in order!
If you do NOTHING else, start there!
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