Make yourself a priority

I am a single mother of four, with a full time job and I found that I used to be more tired than not. When I am tired, I am grumpy. You know who suffers when I am grumpy? Everyone! Then I have to deal with the guilt of being mean to my kids, my family, my friends and whoever else I encounter while grumpy. I got tired of being tired.

At some point over the years of being daughter, wife, and mom, I lost myself. Like many women, I was just trying to make sure that everyone was taken care of. Then I got divorced. Which meant that even more energy was spent trying to make sure everyone was dealing with it okay. When the chaos settled, my cup was empty…..completely dry. As soon as my kids went to their dad’s for the weekend, I jumped in bed and pretty much stayed there. I was just exhausted and had no desire to do anything. I recall looking at my reflection in the mirror one day and I asked myself out loud, “who the heck are you?” I listen to a lot of music and I was on a Sister Hazel kick. There’s a verse in one of their songs, Change Your Mind, it says:

“If you want to be somebody else, If you’re tired of fighting battles with yourself If you want to be somebody else Change your mind”

That brought me back to something I was told in high school. “Your life is 98% what you make of it. You don’t have to be a victim of your circumstances.” It was definitely time to change my mind. I really started looking inside of myself. What do I want from this life? What do I want to leave behind? What can I do to help others? What am I doing to take care of me???

I mean it seems so simple, do things that make you happy. But there’s more to it. You have to make yourself a priority. You have to schedule YOU time every single day. I started doing that. I love to learn so I dived into learning more about nutrition and the effects of food on the body and mind. I also did a lot of research on meditation, which I do every single night. Now I am adding exercise into that routine. You know what else I learned? I learned that what works for one person isn’t going to work for everyone. My day looks different that the person who wakes up at 5:00am to start their day. First of all, I like to sleep but I am a night owl. I hit snooze at least three times every morning. No matter how “quick” I try to be, I always take longer than I anticipated to get ready. And that taught me that I need to prepare the night before. So, while those early birds are getting into bed at a reasonable hour, I am preparing for the next day. I get a few outfit ideas, because who knows what I will feel like wearing tomorrow. I make sure that my shakeology and anything I want in it is accessible and ready to blend in the morning. I prepare my healthy snacks for work. I make sure that my planner and supplements are in my work bag. I fill my copper water bottle to put on the night stand for consumption first thing in the morning. All these things seem like they won’t take much time but I find that if I don’t do these the night before then they, or at least one thing, are forgotten the next day.

Anyway, my point to all of this is to prepare, be intentional. Failure to plan is a plan to fail. Cheesy I know, but it’s true. Find people that will help keep you accountable and hold them accountable as well. Remember to be kind to yourself. Life is what happens when we are busy making plans. If one day things don’t go as planned, accept it. Tomorrow work harder to make sure that you fit that time in to take care of you.

I was on a web call yesterday and the speaker was talking about how we often get stuck in the rut and think that, oh this is how life is supposed to be. We wake up, go to work, come home, parent, make dinner, parent some more, go to bed, and do it all again the next day. We are always tired because we eat like crap, don’t take care of ourselves, don’t make time for ourselves. We aren’t unhappy but we aren’t living our best lives. Back to the quote from my high school boyfriend, life is what you make of it.

And as Sick Puppies says in their song Maybe;

“Maybe it’s time to change And leave it all behind I’ve never been one to walk alone I’ve always been scared to try So why does it feel so wrong To reach for something more? Don’t want to live a better life What am I waiting for? ‘Cause nothing stays the same Maybe it’s time to change”

Don’t be scared to start. Make yourself a priority. If you need an accountability partner or group, send me a message. Let’s work together. You can’t pour from an empty cup. A healthier, happier you means that your family, friends and loved ones will absorb some of that positive energy that you are radiating.

No matter how tired you are, get that work out in. You will be happy that you did and you will feel better!

#Boymom #health #perfectlyimperfectlife #wellness