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Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Beautiful You: Nurturing yourself


"I've got to get it together, or we're all going to fall apart."

I can't tell you how many times I've said this to myself over the past year.
Truth is, I CAN'T do it all.  
It should be a relief just to let myself rest in that fact, and it partially is but there is more to it than 
that because I will inevitably end up trying to do it all again.
Something needs to change...and odds are it will be more than one thing.

I've been seeing all the New Year resolutions going around and feeling sorta guilty about mine,
but I've decided to stop that :)  Who needs another guilt trip anyway?

I need to take care of myself.
I want to take care of myself.
I will take care of myself.

As women we tend put pressure on ourselves to make sure everyone's needs are met.  I'm not saying to abandon taking care of others, we just can't forget to take care of ourselves in the process.
And that's exactly what I have done.  Forgotten me.  Have you forgotten you too?

"Women are usually taught from an early age about the importance of nurturing and taking care of others. Mothers generally focus on meeting the needs of the children, husband, and household before addressing their needs. Simultaneously, society and the media send women the message that they must be perfect. They are given the message they need to be thin, beautiful, young, perfectly dressed, and in all ways flawless."

It became very clear over the past few months that my body has been telling me 
that this is all too much (physically and emotionally), but I wasn't listening.  I just kept pushing through. What happens is that level of pain/discomfort becomes your new "normal" and you will operate in that condition until it becomes worse and then the cycle of pushing through will start all over again, and the new level becomes your new "normal"....again.
Enough.
We are important too.
We will better be able to serve others if we are cared for.

"As parents, we get caught up in the family fast track. We are consumed by school, homework, little league, karate, dance class, and on and on. There is little time left to focus on self-care. Parents get caught in this cycle and neglect relationship building needs. There is little or no attention given to meet their own personal physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual needs. There is no time left for themselves, much less relationships."
 "Ultimately, it is when we connect and address our needs that we can find balance and happiness. When this happens, we can give to others from a full heart. In other words, we can enhance our relationships by taking care of ourselves."
So it's time for a ME over-haul.
Physical, emotional, and spiritual.

I'll be sharing some tips and my experiences along the way.  
They may help you too, at least I hope they will.
Let's refill our love tanks so we can give more freely and sincerely from them.

 *Quotes in this post taken from here.

8 comments:

  1. Krista, I absolutely agree with this. We really need to take care of ourselves. Noel was out of town for a really long time for work, Walker was teething, etc. etc....anyways, the whole time he was gone, I didn't take time for myself, and I know that's why I got sick a few weeks ago. I need to do a much better job at this.

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  2. Oh gosh! I have been wearing my self thin as well. Put things off, gave others the upper hand, letting other peoples decisions rule, etc. I finally scheduled a doctor appointment, a dentist appointment, and I'm putting myself first for once. I've been going through a lot of hard/stressful times with this whole wedding thing, so I know exactly how you feel. I'm ready to do things for me! I'm looking forward to you tips :)

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  3. Oh, I so know how this is. Putting me first is last on my list. I'm so at the bottom of my list there is a procedure I really, really need done. I scheduled it. Then canceled it. Because who has time for that mess? Not me. But I know I need to make the time. Why is it so hard for us mothers to take care of ourselves??

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  4. I just had my 4th baby, and I so agree and can't wait to see some of your tips!

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  5. I'm curious and excited to see where this journey takes you. Even though I'm not a mom yet, I feel like I need to be taking better care of myself, mostly mentally/emotionally, although starting to work out again would help with that. Good luck!

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  6. What a great post. I love all of the quotes you posted and I'm sure other women can relate (I know I can!). I'm interested to keep up with you and your tips -- I know I could benefit from them! :)

    Here's to your journey! <3

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  7. So excited to see your tips. :)

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  8. Oh, girl, how I needed this! I told myself that I'd be taking better care of me this year and like you said, I've got right back to the point where I'm not doing what I said I'd do...and it's only a month into the year! It's crazy because I know that when I'm at my best I can best serve others (i.e my family, friends, business, etc.) yet I keep pushing and pushing myself until I'm overwhelmed. I'm actually not real sure how to go about stopping this cycle so I look forward to reading your tips!!!

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