DAY 1: 5 DAY SELF-CARE CHALLENGE
Today kicks off my free community 5-Day Self-Care Challenge, which is all about experiencing moments of calm in the chaos, finding ways to release tension and heal, learning to soften our approach to life’s challenges, and connecting with others who understand and support our journey.
15 minutes of journaling. 15 minutes of walking. THE gift of a lifetime to ourselves. It’s never too late to sign up: Click here to join.
In the spirit of connection, I thought I would share the journal prompt and my response at the end of each day. Sharing my personal writing is always uncomfortable, but in the discomfort, there’s growth. I know this to be true, and when I remind myself of this, things tend to get a whole lot less uncomfortable. So here it is, my entry for day 1.
JOURNAL PROMPT: Where in my life am I being called to bend, not break? How can I soften my approach and trust that I can meet this challenge with love, instead of resistance?
I have this age old habit where I can push and force and will something to be, whether it’s a project at work or a goal in my life. When things get hard, rather than soften, my reflex is to go rigid and MAKE. IT. HAPPEN. Now I’ll be honest, this has served me well, but it’s not the only way, and it’s not always the best way.
In my business, I’m being called to bend, not break. I’ve been working with clients, and trying to figure out “what’s my thing” as I work with more and more people. The common denominator has been women that haven’t had an easy road, that have had their ass kicked by life, and are ready to explore and create what’s next. They’re the badass phoenix rising, Katniss Everdeen that overcomes it all, the hero of their own story.
The internet says I should niche down, so I’ve slowly slid into the grief space. I wrote a book about my own grief, and I’ve done a lot of this work in my previous line of work, so it makes sense. But do I want to keep following the path that makes sense? Is that why I’m here on this earth? To do what makes sense? Sounds ridiculous when I write it out.
The thing I keep coming back to is that the work I do isn’t only in grief. It’s in taking care of ourselves, envisioning the future, creating a plan, developing teeny tiny actionable steps that will land my clients in the life they desire. So grief doesn’t really do it justice. Again, phoenix rising and all that good stuff.
So where can I meet this challenge with love? Where can I soften my approach and bend as I go along? I can stand to just share more of myself, of what I do, and stop trying to force a label onto it. I can lean into my knowing, into my intuition, and let that guide me.
I asked myself, if I could put up a billboard for the world to see and have them actually believe it, what would it say? The answer came fast and clear. It would say, “Better days are coming.” Because they are, even when you can’t imagine that to be the case. The funny thing is, my Nana always said, “Better days are coming.” I mean she ALWAYS said it, for as long as I can remember to anyone that would listen. And when she said it people believed it in their bones. I know I did, and I still do.
Maybe that sounds like an empty platitude, but that phrase —that’s the is-ness of life. There are indescribable lows, euphoric highs, and everything in between. When we’re in the lows, it’s easy to let our vision get tunneled, to only see the hard, dark moments as all that there is and will ever be. It becomes nearly impossible to remember what was and really feel that goodness in our body.
I’ve come to realize, that’s the work –it’s in finding joy again, seeking the light, being the light, and creating better days.
That feels like the answer to it all: Better days are coming. I can trust that and lean into it. After all, I have my whole life. I love the idea that it was my Nana’s thing, and maybe, just maybe, it’s mine too.
