82 days later…

The start of a new year has always brought with it great excitement, in anticipation of what lies ahead. But this year was different for me. When the year kicked off, I was still dazed out and super fatigued. I wished I could extend my leave. I wished schools weren’t opening. All I wanted to do was rest, in particular, sleep. But, with the way my life is set-up, I did not have the luxury of any of that. I had to put on my “big girl panties” and stride along.

This feeling lead me to pen this post, putting together the March self-care guide.

The strides I took allowed me to walk with the understanding that despite a lot of things happening around me, at any given point, I could only do so much. I allowed myself to feel. I allowed myself to be. I also allowed myself to rest.

I mention these in particular because allowing myself to feel, be and rest have been the biggest things I battle with. Simply because whilst growing up, these three had negative connotations attached to them. Like many first borns (it’s not even a first-born thing, but anyway), when I got into my feels, I was told to be strong and not be a cry baby because the baby would mimic me. When I just wanted to BE, being by myself to do whatever I wanted, which mostly entailed me being alone, I was told that I was being anti-social. When I wanted to rest, phrases such as “we only rest when we are dead” echoed strongly in my mind.

Of course with these unconciously ingrained in me, giving myself permission to feel, be and rest required a big mindset shift. So when this year started and I was feeling the way I felt, I resolved to myself that I will take it one day and one task at a time. I promised to not push myself too hard, especially with my purpose work (podcasts, blogs, coaching, etc.). I realised how many things I have within my control and decided to focus on that rather.

These are some of the practical things I’ve done which have made a tremendous contribution to my mental well-being:

Feel:

I truly allowed myself to feel. Whatever emotion I felt, I acknowledged it and sat with it for as long as I needed to. The trick here is to not disregard how you feel by downplaying your emotions or hyper-spiritual