My Self Care Intentions

"What are you willing to give up to have the life you keep pretending you want?" ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

It's hard to believe that one quarter of 2018 is over!  I'm looking back and pondering how I've done so far with meeting goals and creating the life I want to live.  I'm turning 55 on May 4 and taking the next month to focus very intently on creating habits that will serve me for the rest of my life.

This year, so far has been somewhat challenging for me.  I have been trying to improve Crazy Blonde Life in so many ways, including improving my photography and making the blog visually more appealing with collages and more ways to shop the posts.  I've also tried to create more videos, improve and increase my Instagram presence including Rewards Style posts while at the same time being heavily involved in the Forever Fierce Facebook Group.  I've taken on the position of editor for the newsletter that will be coming out next week (more about that coming soon).  I truly love everything that I'm doing, and I have a hard time shutting it down.  At the same time, I'm saying yes to more invitations from friends because I have been so busy the past year and my friendships have suffered.  I'm still traveling to see my daughters...I'm leaving for Nashville on April 25 as well as planning other trips.  I am so hard on myself when I don't get a blog post out (like today).   I want to make shifts in how I'm speaking to myself, as well as how I manage my time.  I have a hard time stopping long enough to take time out for self care and when I do, I feel guilty.

I want to feel joyful every day and I want to be a successful blogger who inspires my readers to reach for more.  I think that requires a lot of honesty on my part about the things I struggle with.  Having said that, I know life can be exhilarating and beautiful!  Sharing my passion for moving forward in the best possible way is important.  I want to be a good mother, wife and friend.  I want to make time in life to explore my passions and find new ones. All of this brings me to the conclusion that I need to let go of trying to control everything.  I need to let go, relax and take a deep breath and enjoy the moment.  Nothing is perfect and we live most of our lives somewhere between the extremes of bliss and devastation (in the grey area), but giving up is not an option for me.  I do believe however that I need to set some guidelines and make a schedule that is reasonable and doable!  

Quote from Pinterest!

Because we're starting the second quarter of 2018 tomorrow, I've set some self care intentions that I want to hold myself to daily and weekly. So here is my list...it might surprise you!

Sit down for lunch

I think it's so important to be aware of the food you eat and lately, I've gained a few pounds simply because I'm not taking the time to make nourishing mea1s and sit down for 20 minutes to eat them without distraction.  I'm always on my computer or going through Instagram and I eat mindlessly.  

Get Fit Again

Not just because it's April and I know that I'm going to have to put on a bathing suit.  This is my life, and I need to take care of my body, mind and spirit so that as I get older, I will be able to continue to do the things that I love to do.  I sit at my computer for too long every day and it's taking it's toll on me.  I've started working out with a trainer 2 times a week and I want to increase it to 3 and also include yoga at home for 15 minutes a day.  I think this will help me mentally as much as physically.  If I'm not healthy, I certainly can't be good at anything.

Make Sunday Social Media Free

This will take some planning!  Normally, I'm on my computer every single morning for at least 3 - 4 hours and then more throughout the day and I take it to bed with me!  I'm really outing myself here!  It's difficult to find the time to get everything done and I will admit that I get distracted while I'm working by emails that pop up and notifications on my phone.  Having a social media free Sunday will require getting up at least 30 minutes earlier every day, which I've been wanting to do anyway, but now that it will be rewarded with a day off, I might be able to do it!  I'm going to try.  I've downloaded an app on my phone called Sleep Cycle - Sleep Cycle is a smart alarm clock that analyzes your sleep pattern and wakes you up in the lightest phase of your sleep, allowing you to wake up feeling rested and more energized.  A built in microphone is used to analyze your movement and ignores all other sounds in the room.  I'll let you know!

Journal and Meditate Every Single Day

I am mostly good about meditating, but I know that adding 10 to 15 minutes of journaling every day will make a huge difference (another good reason to get up earlier).  Meditation has been proven to reduce stress, improve concentration, encourage a healthy lifestyle, increase self-awareness, increase happiness, increase acceptance, slow aging, and benefit cardiovascular and immune health!  Wow...we should all be meditating!  Journaling has been proven to spark creativity and it also has been shown to induce better sleep and reduce stress and anxiety. 

Image from Pinterest

Drink More Water

Believe it or not, there's an App for that too, and it called WaterMinder - I struggle to drink enough water every day.  I drink a huge glass when I get up and then forget to drink throughout the day.  WaterMinder helps you track your water intake based on your body weight and sends you reminders to stay hydrated.  My goal is 84 ounces a day based on the information I entered.  When I see the reminder to drink a glass of water pop up, it usually prompts me to go and do just that!

Practice Forgiving Myself

It's important to honor yourself as well as those in your life.  So many of us are guilty of only noticing our failures and we forget to celebrate our successes.  It could be as simple as feeling good about being kind to a stranger or realizing that you drank enough water for the day and feeling good about that!

Going along with honoring success, it's just as important to forgive yourself for the things that reflect less than the best of who you are.  Instead of feeling guilt or anger at yourself, remember that you're human, think of something that makes you happy and try to hold that thought.  Forgive yourself as you would others.  The past is done and moving forward with a positive attitude is the best way to create a life you love.

Image from Pinterest

Put Everything on My Google Calendar

This one is self explanatory and I don't know why it seems so hard to do!

It's unbelievable how much we let our fears control us and how life changing it can be to let them go!  With the freshness of spring, I'm forging ahead, determined to make positive changes that will serve me for a lifetime!  Would you like to join me?  Let me know what you're planning on for this next quarter of 2018...and by the way Happy Easter!