Apr 22, 2011
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Thank you so much to everyone who responded!
It’s so great to see that most of you are taking some time each day to put yourself back on the priority list.
I really think that self care is the key component to a happy life, and so I thought it would be fun to see what everyone’s definition of self care was. We are all so unique and we all live varied lives. And this means that our definitions will all be different.
If you are a new mom, self care might mean taking a nap while your baby sleeps.
If you are a busy mom with older children, self care might mean practicing deep breathing while waiting in the car pool lane.
If you are a business owner, self care might mean delegating tasks so that you can ease your own workload.
How do you define self care in your own life?
- Does it mean taking time for yourself, which could include relaxing and rejuvenating?
- Does it mean listening to your inner voice and setting boundaries with others when needed?
- Does it mean taking care of your body by eating nutritional foods, resting when you are tired, and remembering to take deep, full breaths?
- Does it mean taking a hard look at your schedule and realizing that you simply must eliminate certain tasks because you are in fact only one person and it’s just not humanly possible to get it all done?
- Does it mean waking up an hour earlier so you are guaranteed to have a peaceful morning?
- Does it mean saying no when you don’t want to do something but would normally have said yes because are a people pleaser?
- Does it mean taking time to go within and really getting to know yourself?
- Does it mean scheduling appointments that you have been putting off, running errands that are on your mind, and checking things off your “to do” list so you can have a more peaceful, quiet life?
- Does it mean taking a day off each week where you only do what you want to do?
As you can see, there are so many ways that we can define self care and what it means for each of us.
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I set aside every morning for myself.
I schedule this time into my calendar, and it isn’t negotiable.
I write. I go within. I drift through my morning in a calm way and a slow pace.
It’s my time to do with as I wish.
I take one day off of work per week.
Until recently, this wasn’t a given in my life. Working from home tends to blur the boundaries between what is work and what isn’t work. And while I’m still setting the boundaries to make them more clear, I do take one day off to read, hang out, and just be Jodi – not the owner of This Is It! Creations.
I eat food that nourishes me.
Fresh, healthy food that makes me feel energized and alive.
I focus on what I love and say goodbye to the rest.
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So often I hear people say that they just don’t have time for self care. That they are simply too busy and how could they possibly add something else to their schedule?=&4=&
Apr 21, 2011
I was listening to a wonderful seminar yesterday with
Jack Canfield. He is the author behind the wonderful
Chicken Soup for the Soul books, was featured on
The Secret, and has written several books on positive thinking and achieving success. He is such an amazing person with a kind spirit, and I love that he is happy to share his knowledge and wisdom with others.
This particular seminar was a motivational talk for authors who would like to achieve success with their own books, which came at a perfect time because Dan and I are each in the process of writing our own books and look forward to applying his wealth of information to our own lives.
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When he wrote the first Chicken Soup for the Soul book, he always referred to it as a bestselling book – right from the start. He visualized it sitting at the top of the New York Times bestsellers list. He imagined full displays in bookstores. He imagined selling millions of books in the first year.
And he kept that dream alive even when almost 150 publishers turned him down. He kept it alive when it was finally printed and sales were dismal in the first few months. He kept it alive when the publisher was having doubts about it and said he would be lucky to sell 20,000 total copies.
He believed in himself, and he continued to dream big.
He kept raising the bar for himself and dreaming even bigger than before.
Even bigger than he thought was possible.
They now have nearly 200 books in the series and have passed all of his dreams along the way. He has had to come up with even bigger dreams, which is a great thing!
He talked about how if you are dreaming and visualizing anyway – what’s the difference between a safe dream and a “shoot for the moon” dream? The universe and the energy to attract your dream don’t know the difference – your feeling behind this dream is what will bring it into fruition. Your emotion and desire and belief in knowing that you deserve this dream will make it real.
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And then take action.
Once you set a clear dream and truly believe it and see yourself living it,
you can take action to make it a reality.
I always have felt that if you meet the universe half way, amazing things can happen.
You set your intention, which sets everything in motion…
and the results can be magical if you truly believe.
So let’s all dream bigger than ever before, and get ready for amazing results!
Apr 20, 2011
It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time to write a post about gratitude!
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Apr 19, 2011
Imagine for a moment that Earth is a schoolroom and that we are all pupils in it.
And imagine that before you were born,
your soul mapped out what your journey on Earth would look like.
You mapped out what you would like to learn during your time here.
You chose what your purpose here would be.
I believe that we each have a unique purpose.
We all have the ability to inspire others with our unique gifts and individual experiences.
Some are amazing teachers who were born to inspire and lead through their actions.
Some are gifted artists who can change lives simply by sharing their creations with others.
Some are loving and compassionate souls who inspire through their open hearts.
Have you ever thought about what your life purpose is?
What do you feel that you were born to do?
What talent do you have that is uniquely yours?
What flows easily and feels great and natural when you do it?
How can you share your experiences and gifts with others and help inspire them to realize their life purpose as well?
More
Apr 18, 2011
Sometimes it’s great to have plans.
It’s comforting to know where you are going and how you will get there.
And then sometimes it’s great to scrap all of those plans and do something completely different – completely spontaneous.
Dan and I did this the other day, and it was wonderful! We had planned to be working the entire day, and when the day completely opened up for us we took action.
Just a few months ago if this same situation had happened, we would’ve just shifted our work tasks around and started working on them instead.
But this time was different.
We are now living our lives in a more open way – we are letting the possibilities flow in – and we are rolling with it all instead of staying rigid. We are more alive and more free.
We saw this opening in our schedule as an opportunity to play hooky and go have some fun together – and I’m so glad we did!
So the next time your plans shift and you find an opening in your schedule, instead of filling the time with another task or chore, try staying open to letting in new experiences and do something spontaneous and fun instead!
You’ll definitely be happy that you did!
