I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to host Thomas Ives from Bestowing Fire. Thomas' motto is "Share, Inspire, Conquer" and his hashtag, #ShareInspireConquer is one of my absolute favorites on Twitter. Without further ado, I'd like to invite you to read what Thomas has to say about self-care.
Photo by Sam Truong Dan on Unsplash
Adjust the focus to see the bigger picture of your life
Have you ever taken a picture that was out of focus by accident? If so, you probably deleted it right away and took another picture. Remember when TVs would have little white dots while you were watching and then tried adjusted the settings to get a clearer picture? When was the last time you actually spent some time adjusting your own focus? I know this sounds weird but in the end, it will all make sense.
Time and place
Life moves at a crazy pace and a lot of times we can’t even catch our breath before the next day starts. We are always wishing we had extra time to relax or get more things accomplished. We tend to feel bad about ourselves when we are not able to achieve as much as we would like. We might also get frustrated at the people that seem to be living with less stress. Well, you can be too.
Why is it that we will pause a movie to do something but not our lives? I am not saying that putting your life “on hold” but what about just a few minutes? That’s all it takes. Instead of checking updates on social media, spend those few minutes to clear your mind. A clear mind will allow you to focus better on the things that truly matter. Take a few moments right now and give it a try
Reflections
We spend so much time looking into mirrors to make sure our external appearance is perfect. Constantly changing clothes, colors, hair styles, ect… until we get it right. We are always comparing our looks to the strangers we see on a daily basis. Allowing us to fall victim to the lies of society. The external part of us is only half of who we are. It’s important that we take some time to assess the internal part of us. I am talking about the perception of ourselves, mental health, thoughts, etc…
I love looking in the mirror when I want to assess the status of my mind. Why? It’s the only time that I can look myself in the eyes and analyze my life. I use this time to inspire myself into making the changes I need to make. Looking in the mirror helps me focus the positive things in my life too. We are drowning in negativity daily and it’s very easy to forget the positive. The next time you are in front of a mirror, take a few minutes to reflect on all the good things in your life.
Fully charged
We would never go on a road trip without a full tank of gas. We are always charging our phones while we sleep so that the phone is ready to go for the next day. Always checking and double checking our stuff before going on vacation. Why? It’s one last thing to worry about and able to accomplish whatever is needed. Same thing goes for us. You can’t give 100% if you are not 100%.
Even if you are fighting an illness, you can still be at 100%. You wouldn’t use old batteries in a remote and expect it to work 100% but this how we are living daily. There are many ways to help you get fully charged. For me, it’s either going for a walk or listen to music. These allow me to adjust my focus on what I want to accomplish or what change I want to try making. Only you know what works for you.
There are many different opinions on the definition of self-care. To me, self-care is: Readjusting the focus to see the bigger picture of your life. With so much happening in our lives, it’s very easy to allow things to get cloudy. Your self-care is very important to you and the people in your life. Dreams, goals, accomplishments and more can only be made a reality if personal self-care is top priority. There’s nothing wrong with putting your self-care in front of the line. Today is a great day to start taking care of yourself, right?
Photo by Michael Dam on Unsplash
