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I hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Valentine’s Day.
I got to spend almost the entire day with my valentine, so I’d say mine was pretty much perfect.
We are actually having our dinner tonight together once I get off work. I can’t wait to enjoy the time and celebrate all the awesome changes that have happened for us this week. Life is such a wonderful ride.
After yesterday’s post I started thinking more about the topic of loving yourself. As I mentioned, I have always struggled with this. I naturally tend to put everyone else in my life first, and often times I end up forgetting the most important relationship I will ever have – the one with myself.
A great way that we can begin to love ourself is to treat our bodies well. Exercise, eat well, and give your body what it needs to be strong and healthy. I have been setting small healthy goals for myself over the past several weeks. As my schedule gets busier it is easy for me to slip back into unhealthy habits, but with goals and a plan it is so much easier to succeed.
These goals/steps for me range from how to improve both my physical and mental health.
Drink More Water
This is simple. Quit drinking all the diet soda and other random things and drink more water. This not only is great for my body but also will help save us money.
I have noticed a tremendous improvement in my overall performance when I adequately hydrate throughout the day.
Have Healthy Snacks on Hand
Often times the reason I eat things that are processed or “bad” for me is because I don’t prepare. I don’t buy the healthy snacks or foods that I need to have in the house to avoid choosing the wrong things when I’m hungry.
I’m not saying don’t treat yourself, I’m simply saying keep healthy and nutritious foods on hand and this makes eating healthy and clean so much easier.
Stop Making Excuses
For as long as I can remember I have made excuses. Before I make a decision or a change I always want to try to find an excuse on WHY I can’t do it or why it won’t happen.
I’ve made it a goal to quit making excuses and leave all doors open. There is nothing you can’t do if you don’t try. So what if you fail, it’s better than never trying right?
Smile More
This seems simple but if you really focus on how many times a day you are so focused on all that is going on that you forget to do the simple things – like smile.
Smile at your spouse, smile at yourself, smile at strangers, just smile. You will be amazed how much better this will make you feel and can change your mind set.
Quit Negative Comments/Self Talk
I’ve really had to work hard at cutting out the negative comments. I’ve always struggled in this department and it did nothing but bring me down and bring those around me down.
What we say verbally is what we learn to believe. Imagine what can happen if you simply cut out negative comments. If you focus on staying positive, your life can change in so many ways. We really are our own worst enemy.
Choose Joy
This can go right along with smiling and cutting out the negative self talk. Choose joy and you will have joy. It doesn’t mean that life is going to be easy, in fact it is guaranteed to not always be easy. It is about how you look at life and at yourself and finding joy even in the hardest situations.
Express Myself
When Wes and I first met and even after we first got married I really struggled with expressing myself and really saying how I felt. I was always worried about how others would respond to me or how I would be viewed.
I’ve learned that nothing in life really every comes from sitting and being quiet. Of course there is a time and place for everything but if you are feeling a certain way – express it!
I have been working on this over the past few months, and it is amazing what has come from simply telling my husband how I feel or if something he has done bothers me. Communication is key to ANY relationship.
Do Something For Yourself
It’s always great to do things for others, but every once in a while do something for you.
This can be as simple as spending the night watching a movie you want to see, painting your nails, going on a shopping trip, spending an hour reading, just something that you enjoy that you don’t get to do often.
We have to take care of ourselves in order to take care of others. You deserve your love too!
Sometimes for me it is as simple as spending the time getting ready. Even when I am just going to be watching a 3 month old child all day, there is something about spending the time to fix my hair and put on some makeup that makes me feel better.
Take Life A Day at A Time
I learned to do this after I lost my job and am having to focus on it again now that we have a lot of changes coming in the future. I felt overwhelmed and all I could think about was what was going to happen a week, a month, or even a year from now. It caused me to start stressing and feeling down towards myself.
I’ve learned that you truly have to take life a day at a time. Of course, I still have to make plans for the future but I don’t dwell on it. I do what I can and then call it a day.
Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by work, blogging, running/working out, and all my other obligations. I simply do what I can and then call it a day.
My favorite quote of all time is:
“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I’ll try again tomorrow.’”
This is so true and has really improved not only my overall stress level but has allowed me to focus on my daily accomplishments.
What are some of the things you do to focus on yourself?
Tell me something you LOVE about yourself? Self love is SO important!
Awww this is such a lovely post and some great advice. You even ended with my favorite quote of all time! I love that! It is so very true for running! I have used this many times in my running career as a collegiate and elite athlete! Thanks for the inspiration!
Yes it is so so true! Sometimes you just have to do what you can for the day and then let go. Every day is a new day! 🙂 Thanks 🙂
I really need to practice taking life one day at a time! I always think about the future and stress myself out so much. One thing I love about myself is the dedication and drive that I have when it comes to working out. I get myself to the gym every day. Happy Saturday!
Ashley, Married to the Game
Yes it is a really hard thing to do even though it is simple to say. I think I was forced to practice that so it made it easier, but it makes life so much easier sometimes! It allows us to slow down and enjoy the little moments.
This is a great list! I love that you added “express myself.” That is something that I struggle with as well, and my husband is always stressing how important it is that we communicate and that I tell him how I feel. It seems as if our roles are reversed – shouldn’t the girl be begging the guy to talk!? :p It’s encouraging to hear that another wife is working on this too. I love to take time out to paint my nails. It makes me happy to look down and see freshly painted fingernails! I love my sense of humor! 🙂
Glad to see I am not the only one as well! I’m always so closed off sometimes, and I forget that my husband wants me to express myself!
Enjoy your weekend and hopefully some freshly painted fingernails!! 🙂
This is a great list! I especially like the one about negative self talk. I really believe that’s what holds many women back from meeting their personal goals. Low self-esteem and negative perception is something I hope we can conquer through our blogs & inspiring others!
Completely agree Megan! It does hold a lot of women back. It’s something I’ve struggled with and work on daily! 🙂
Taking things day by day helps me so much. It must be so exciting to finally move, but with even good changes comes lot of stress! I know it will be worth it for you though 🙂
Yes it will be 🙂 Exciting but stressful!
the key to setting myself up for a day of focus is my morning routine. Starting the day right by drinking a big glass of water and focusing on my goals and intentions for the day BEFORE I get on the computer. I map out my day and what I want to accomplish. I set daily intentions and usually at least one has to do with self love.
What a great idea! Thank you Hayley!
my favorite time of the day is the early morning when everyone else is still asleep, i love to enjoy some peace and quiet with a simple breakfast and blog-reading. 🙂
i recently have been thinking about communication as well and do think it is the key to any relationship. when we communicate exactly what we think and feel, that is when we are most true to ourselves. it is the only way anybody will know who we really are. i think we are often scared to say exactly how we feel because we worry that it will be misinterpreted and people will draw a far-fetched conclusion about what kind of person we are, etcetc… basically, we overthink things. but i think when we get the in the habit of saying what we mean, it allows us to take other people’s words at face value and not overanalyze them, making life more genuine and enjoyable for everyone.
Love that Eva! Great points! I too need to work at taking things at face value – I overanalyze so much!
I love the idea of choosing to be happy and letting go of negative thoughts. We have a choice to get upset about the little things or to let them go. I try to remind myself to be mindful all the time and to stay focused on what’s important so I don’t get caught up in the small stuff.
Exactly Beth! Sometimes you just have to really slow down and focus on the important things in life.
Great stuff as always – good to see as you continue to work on these things you get more confident in talking about it on the blog.
A couple of thoughts:
– Some days will just suck. You will feel lousy, not great about yourself, and fail in attempts to ‘shake it off’. That is OK – life is like running, we have good and bad days and need to ‘persevere’ 😉 to get through.
– Knowing when you can no longer just ‘talk yourself through it’, and need to seek outside help is critical. You should never feel like a failure because you can’t manage to like yourself or greet each day with joy … there is no shame in seeking help.
Great post!
Agree on both points!
Some days do suck. That’s why I just focus on one day at a time. If a day sucks, I just pick myself back up and keeping moving!
Agreed – I actually saw a therapist early last year before my insurance got cut. It really helped just allowing someone else to listen to me ramble 🙂 No shame at all!