Friend. You need to join this challenge! You’ve jumped in and done all the funny challenges on TikTok and Instagram, but this one is for Y-O-U!
Of course, this blog is centered around motherhood, but in most cases, that does not limit anything I say or suggest to women who have given birth to or adopted children. This challenge is no different. Women, period, are stressed, overworked, overwhelmed, and tired. It’s not easy to be who we are, and whether you have children or not, work outside the home or not, or even consider your life to be great or not, you, sweet friend, could do a much better job taking care of yourself. I know because I’m you.
Almost a year and a half ago, I found out the hard way that self-care is not only not selfish, it is mandatory! I found myself going from one doctor to the next trying to figure out what was wrong with me only to hear each of them say, “Kelli, you’re stressed.” So, yes, I was stressed for sure, but not any more stressed than I had ever been. After several series of tests, I finally accepted that maybe, just maybe, this was a matter of the heart, and not just my physical well-being.
Stress will eventually affect your body. I felt sick, y’all. I just knew that I had finally developed high blood pressure or diabetes, and at one point, I thought it was my thyroids. If you know me, you know I’m a “double-checker”, an “over-thinker”, so I covered my bases. I had everything checked multiple times by different people, and they all came up with “stress”.
One thing that one doctor said to me, will never leave me. This doctor was a black, female doctor who was married with kids. She understood my life so well. She told me that I had to get this under control or the results could be harsh. She started talking about a path I had no plans on going down, so I listened, even though I didn’t really believe her at the time. She explained that we tolerate stress less and less the older we get. So, 20-year old Kelli could tackle the world with no problems. Thirty-year old Kelli was just as capable, but she needed more self-care to get the job done. Forty-year old Kelli would need even more.
I decided to do several little and not-so-little things to make myself feel good. I started doing daily devotionals and I spent time praying each morning. And, I remembered so many other things I loved that I had lost trying to be so many things to so many people.
So, for the next 30-days, I’m intentionally focusing on me. I’ll do all the other things I normally do with the same effort and energy, but at some point throughout the day, I am committing to doing at least one thing that is just for me, and I want you to join me in doing the same for yourself. It doesn’t really matter when you see this post. Start today. I have developed a checklist of 30 things you can do, but that’s only a starting point. You can do this however it works best for you. Do all the things or do some things for 30-days. It really doesn’t matter. Just do it! You’ll thank yourself for it later!
I want us to do this together, so please tag me if you take pictures of your self-care journey and let’s encourage one another. Look out for my Instagram stories, because I’ll do my best to document along the way. If I miss a few days, just know I’ll catch up. Sometimes my self-care is staying off social media, so if that happens, I promise to fill you in when I come back and I’m sure to make a blog post about my experience when I reach the end of the 30-days.
All you need to do to sign up is respond to the pop up you should have seen on the homepage of this blog. You’ll be able to download the checklist and get started! Let’s get it! See you soon, friends!
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