DAY 4: 5 DAY SELF-CARE CHALLENGE

Today’s the FOURTH day of 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 4…

JOURNAL PROMPT: What is one thing I can do today to love my way through the grief I’m feeling? How can I show up for myself with more tenderness and grace in this moment?

First off, I must bring you a weather update because apparently the weather is a HOT topic of conversation as we age. It’s raining! Not like a light mist, it’s a cute fall day kind of rain. No friend, it’s pouring buckets. 

You know what I love about days like today? Nature is asking how much do you really want to stay committed to the thing you said you’d do. It’s pouring and cold… perfect weather to do my journaling and busy myself with other things that don’t include walking outside for 15 minutes. 

But that’s not who I am in this season. I am someone that shows up for myself, that keeps promises to myself, and does the thing that I know is good for me even when it’s uncomfortable.

That is the way I can love myself through the grief I’m feeling: show up and take care of myself even when it’s hard or uncomfortable. 

The old me, when I was having a rough go, would give me a pass to do the thing I didn’t feel like doing. But when I had a lot of hard days in a row, that amounted to me neglecting myself. I wouldn’t journal, move my body, play, or do any of the things that make me feel good. I didn’t want to, so why bother.

Let me tell you why I bother now. The current day version of me is all in on doing the things that are good for me, even when it’s uncomfortable and I don’t feel like it.

I’ve had enough hard seasons to know that taking care of myself through the turbulent times is what I need, regardless of how I feel in the moment. I have enough wisdom to know that if I give myself a pass to skip the thing I know I should do for myself, I’ll feel worse in the long run. 

I don’t want to feel worse. I want to feel well. In fact, I want to feel as well as possible. To feel that way, I must stay committed to doing the things that make me feel mentally, emotionally, and spiritually well, even if sometimes, in the moment, I don’t feel like it.

Never once have I regretted putting on my shoes and taking a walk, rain or shine. I’ve always felt better afterwards. Never once have I felt worse pouring words onto the page. It’s ALWAYS sweet relief.

That deep knowing is why journaling and walking are my two daily non-negotiables. It’s why I built this challenge around these two things. They work. Full stop. If you do them, you will feel better than before you did them. 

To love myself through the grief I feel, I’ll keep my commitments to taking care of myself through this season. In the moments when I don’t feel like it, I’ll remind myself gently that I deserve this time for myself, it will help me feel better, and I am worth keeping the promises I made to myself. 

Friend, you deserve to give yourself that same love, care, and grace, especially in the hard seasons.