Im a person who likes to take good care of myself first before I think of helping anyone else. Like taking care of personal priorities,fitness,appearance,relationships etc...but I see many women ignoring themselves and feeling low about it.Well today thats not going to be the point of discussion. Today I would like to hear from like-minded women, how and in what way they keep themselves on top of the list. Simple things I do on a daily basis is get up with a positive thought, promise myself to try to conquer the stress, eat healthy, exercise diligently, build meaningful relationships etc. Share your positive thoughts so that others are also inspired by it.
I make myself happier when I make my family happy. For me mind and body are interconnected. I cannot say that I will be happy if my family members have problems. Seeing them happy is the motivation for me to do anything in life. I include extended family members issues as well here.
It depends... I put my family first. Precisely, my kids first, and then my older mom and my husband. But I do find time for myself; thus I don't regret my life style. For me, good planning and time management is the key.
I put my kid first he already misses me in office hours. Next priority is husband, he is very understanding and priorotises me first. Then finally my parents, me and in-laws.
When I wake up I have a simple saying for the day. If time permits I write in my journal. Most of my stress comes down when I write it down. Plus read blogs and books related to positivism. Other than these I set short-term goals for myself and those I care about. It works better than setting complex long-term goals and worrying about it constantly. With food, I eat what I like. I don't deprive myself of food, especially the ones I like. Letting go once in a while helps too.
I just make a rough list of tasks to be performed next day in previous night before sleeping. by this i feel organized and focused in the morning. sometimes i prepare food as par my likes, keeping family likes on hold .... many a times i send the kids to park with my Dh so that i can have some alone me time. As my younger daughter doesnt go to school yet. many a times i send the kids to sleep with their father, and i enjoy watching tv alone in night. i request my Dh to prepare breakfast on sunday. it gives a really good feel to both of us. long talks on phone with my loved ones give me a boost. reading a good book is like feeding my soul. i listen to music while doing chores in kitchen, it really uplifts my spirits. i go to walk after dropping my elder dd to school, if my husband is free to take care of younger one. i write into diary about the incidents which trouble me, with whole analysis, like why it happend, what went wrong, how it can be taken care of in future, what were my mistakes. it really reduces my emotional stress. i keep on thinking how i can make my routine more effective and interesting for me and my family both.
I do love to preach put yourself first and the rest will fall in place. So your question is right up my alleyway! I'm not so much into taking care of my appearance as i am about sleeping! So if I need an extra 15 min in the morning, I take it. I can cut corners by not putting away breakfast dishes or by changing a time consuming breakfast plan to a easier one. Though I'm a SAHM, I volunteer a few days in a week and it does take time while giving me the satisfaction of having done my bit. Some days I also go unscheduled to volunteer when the pile of dishes on the kitchen sink doesn't inspire me to come home! There are days when I meet with working and non-working friends for coffee or lunch just to have a good conversation. The rest of the stuff is put on the back burner. I'd love to walk into an extra tidy home with fresh sheets and an inviting aroma of something cheesy wafting from the oven as much as the next person. If I have to do it all myself, meh! Maybe once a month. Rest of the time a reasonably clean home with a healthy, perhaps boring, meal will do for my family. Life's too short to do chores and take care of family all the time!
Absolutely! I take care of myself first. I eat at the right time and also workout if I feel the need, so I am not grumpy and have the energy to look after my family. I take care of my appearance. Me time is also extremely important for me. I don't think it's selfish at all. It's how I function well and let's me handle any crisis calmly that may come my way.