Letting Go of Definitives
Social media, news coverage and society like to use definitives when talking about very personal topics such as self-care. The focus is on going to the spa, getting a massage, taking a trip and meeting friends for coffee.
My approach to self-care is much more simple as I focus on activities that can bring you joy. Also, every caregiver is different so I break things down into bite-size pieces that will encourage, motivate and inspire caregivers to make a change.
Every day has 1,440 minutes.
What if we looked at every day as 1,440 minutes instead of 24 hours? Do you already feel as if you have more time on your hands? Do you see the chance to create small pockets of time for yourself?
As caregivers our schedule is full and our attention is often consumed by our child with special needs.
Imagine how much easier it would be if we told ourselves, “Today, I have 1,400 minutes and I’m going to spend 15 of them doing something that brings me joy.”
Do you notice that I didn’t put any pressure to be happy all 1,440 minutes?
If you have the ratio of 15 minutes out of 1,400 minutes, then the task seems less daunting - AND more realistic.
When we makes activities more inviting, we are removing barriers and any excuses that we may tell ourselves why we can’t do it.
Self-care doesn’t need to be complicated. Self-care can be anything that you want it to be.
I know, you may be saying “Hello - Nicole, caregiving has its good and bad days..…I don’t even have 15 minutes.” I know that some days, me asking you for 15 minutes will feel as if I’ve lost my marbles and am totally out-of-touch with the life of a caregiver.
That is where mindset comes into play. You have been telling yourself that finding time every day is too hard, so naturally, you will continue that story even though we’ve changed the “task” to find 15 minutes out of 1,440 minutes.
I encourage you to try it. Start tomorrow - take 15 minutes out of your day and find a quiet place where you can take some deep breaths, do some stretching, listen to a guided meditation, listen to music, or enjoy a hot cup of tea or coffee.
You can do it!
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