Today was a tough day for me, I felt tired for most of the day and also didn’t think I accomplished much of anything. Let’s face it, life isn’t always graceful and full of perfect accomplishments. There are times when you’re left feeling so drained from your week that even your days off leave you feeling drained. Whether you’re side hustling like crazy, or sleeping all day to recover from normal shifts or night shifts; you are doing much better than you give yourself credit for. Sometimes hygiene is a second thought because all you want is to stay in bed all day, or eating something healthy sounds boring and you need extra carbs to balance out your nerves. Regardless of being a consistent go-getter or a life conqueror, we all have our bad days that leave our eyes heavy and our minds drained.
If you are in any way doubting your progress or feeling like your week or days off could have been more productive, here are 5 accomplishments that you could do only 3 off and still be ahead of the game.
1. You Drank A Glass Of Water
Drinking water doesn’t come easy sometimes. Personally, I’ve found that while I’m at work, during my morning shift, I tend to get so distracted with assignments at hand that drinking water becomes my last thought instead of a second nature habit. If you took the time today to drink a glass of water and made it enjoyable for what works for you, then you are winning in that regard. This accomplishment, if you continue to drink water, will ensure that your body is not only hydrated but your mind can function with the most clarity and focus for the rest of the day. The goal should be to drink 3-4 glasses of water a day.
2. You Washed Your Face And/Or Have Brushed Your Teeth
Sometimes when feeling low energy, it’s a second thought to do basic hygiene self-care practices. Especially those of you who are new moms are working multiple jobs, are working significant overtime to provide for your families, are feeling drained from family gossip, and/or even a bit isolated – need to nurture yourself. It can become a second thought to have the time or take the time to do basic self-care practices. If you woke up today to just wash your face or brush your teeth then you are winning and should give yourself grace if you’re feeling down on yourself about not going above these two simple routines.
3. You Listened To Music Or A Podcast
Music is therapy for the soul, and podcasts not only expand your mind to new thoughts and ideas but also can be therapeutic. These self-care practices allow you to step away from your phone to just listen, observe and discover. It’s so important that if this is not part of your routine that you allow it to be and if you’ve accomplished this act of self-care, then you recognize the importance of listening. In a lot of ways, we can tend to speak more than listen and expect more than recognize what’s before use. By taking time to just listen, you’re allowing your body to completely surrender to the powerful words, lyrics, rhythms, and perspectives that allow us to be the expressive humans that we were meant to be. Even if you’re just using your ears to partake, you’re taking time to feed your soul, and that alone is a self-care accomplishment in itself. What I personally love to do is watch youtube videos of street performers, especially in NYC. Colorado gets performers here and there but the subway system in NYC and through the city is full of soul stompers, speakers, and change-makers.
4. You Spoke To Someone That Values You
Sometimes it’s easy to isolate ourselves or to refrain from speaking to someone that values us, that we haven’t spoken to in a while. You’re winning in the realm of self-care if you took time out of the day to speak to someone you love and that cares for you. Sometimes it’s easy to allow ourselves to focus on a single person who doesn’t truly value us, in those moments it’s crucial for us to then connect with someone in our life who does believe in our goals, in our mental health, and who aspires for us to do great things – even if those great things aren’t entirely what we desire in our broken hears, sadness and pain. Regardless, if someone believes in you and you spent time with them whether over the phone or in person then that practice of connecting is self-care in itself.
5. You Ate Foods That Brought A Bit Of Joy To Your Life
There is a huge movement of body positivity that has begun to arise throughout the world. The goal of such a perspective is to not dwell on negative ideas of your appearance, to instead enjoy the beauty of being alive. Eating food is such a beautiful task, and when it’s balanced with what adds value to your health, it can become the fuel to your self-care routine. It’s important to remember that food fuels your body and it’s equally important for you to enjoy and appreciate what you’re able to eat. If you had a meal that not only helped you to move in a different direction from jump-starting your routine to then accomplishing your day, then you’re heading in the direction of ruling your day. The accomplishment in your day could even be eating something that helps you to take a restful nap, these self-care routines are important for supporting your health and well-being in life.
If you relate to one of these self-care practices, then you have conquered more than you’ve made it out to be and jump-started your day and week for success. It’s important to value and to recognize you aren’t far from accomplishing all that you need to within one day. Keep moving in the right direction to reboot yourself for the rest of the week.
