As the season of giving comes to an end, don’t forget to include yourself as a recipient of your own generosity. In fact, celebrate yourself as you bring this year to a close and start the new one. So often we are taught that putting ourselves in the top 5 on the priority list is selfish, if we are parents, then we sometimes believe we should never be a priority. Truth is, we cannot give what we don’t have. Only when we put ourselves first can we truly have the spirit of generosity for others.
Set an example of self-care and self-appreciation for your children so that they develop the habit of being a priority to themselves. Try some of these suggestions for prioritizing yourself, but only do the one(s) that make you feel recharged and nurtured. Or share your method for self-priority with others. Remember, our children do what we do, not what we say. Let them know it’s OK to say, "Me first."
1) Take yourself outside, away from the chaos of family or work and hike, walk, run or play in the snow. Whatever you need to do to connect with nature and be refueled by it.
2) Write 10 cards to yourself. On each card write something that you love about your personality. Seal them and either open one per day or mail them to yourself one each day. This is ten days of reminder as to what you love about yourself.
3) Have a friend or spouse take the kids out for a couple of hours. Commit that time to only doing activities that begin with the sentence, "I want to…" The "shoulds" and chores will be there when the family returns to help you out.
4) Make a vision board. The power of this activity should not be underestimated. Glue words and pictures to a piece of poster board that represent all of the experiences and feelings you want to have. This is not a vehicle for you to create what your friends and family desire, it’s a vision of what you want in your life….Have fun, the sky is the limit.
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