I am getting better at taking care of myself.
My baby steps are paying off in small but good ways. I am treating myself better than I have… maybe ever? It is shocking to me that I treated myself so shitty now that I have a bit of clarity through sobriety. I didn’t think I was at the time, but I was.
I was doing the best I could then. Luckily, I know better now.
I am only doing simple things to take care of myself, but when repeated daily they have the power to make me feel pretty damn good. Eating healthy and delicious food, getting exercise, looking nice everyday instead of wearing yoga pants, praying, writing, taking some time to myself, etc. …
It all adds up. Self-care is greater than the sum of its parts.
I never knew!
But… I know now, right?
I am trying not to worry about doing it perfectly, either. It is okay to miss a day of exercise, for example, if that is what I need to do to take care of myself. It is NOT okay, however, to make excuses all the time because I am being lazy. Balance, balance, balance. What a nice word. I thought my word of 2014 was surrender, but maybe it is really balance. Maybe it is BOTH.
I am not allowed to talk in a mean way to myself, either. That is not allowed in my new balance-y life.
I just shut those negative thoughts right out of my head, and DO something instead.
Baby steps, baby. Just keep taking them.
The Soberist Blog 
Balance. Thanks for that Jen , I need to practice that too cause I am the Queen of rewarding myself!
Ha! Sharon that is too funny…I can be that way too. I am trying to rein it in a bit because I feel better when I eat better and am more active. I can be quite lazy if I let myself. 🙂
Yes!! Time has to pass.. the more time sober the more we start to benefit from the accumulated small positive changes .. and treats… great stuff xxxx
It’s pretty amazing! I think the future is very bright. 🙂
It is all about slowly retraining the brain. Might be baby steps but they are good ones.
Yeah, my brain needed some serious retraining. Sometimes I feel like I was programmed incorrectly, and I am having to do it now. I am grateful to have the chance to do so! 🙂
Oh boy, did I need to read this post. I have been sliding backwards in terms of taking care of myself… baby steps in the wrong direction. This is just the kick in the pants I need to get back on track. Even if it’s one small thing each day, I can make that tweak to start heading in the right direction!
Thanks for this post!
Yeah, they really add up! Thanks for the comment, Josie! xx
Maybe it’s surrendering to balance? I like the way that sounds.
Sherry
Very interested, Have a wonderful day friend 🙂
Yes, balance is a beautiful word. A gentle, calm, reflective word, worth holding in our minds. The gentle words can have such power to keep at bay all the nasty, biting, self-loathing feelings – if we focus on them.
I like your approach to shutting negative thoughts right out of your head. It reminded me of this old Bob Newhart sketch which I have seen recommended elsewhere as a good way of dealing with that ‘itty bitty shitty committee’. Plus it always makes me laugh!
I’ve realized the same thing: the little ways we care about ourselves go a long way.