Hi, my name is Kelsey Smith. I am all about self-care/self-responsibility, and I don’t care who knows it! Why do we feel shame or embarrassment when we take time for ourselves ladies? Why do we feel the need to be superwoman for everyone else BUT ourselves?
I want to change the stigma around self-care. I believe in order to be our best selves and therefore do our best work, we need to take care of ourselves. I’m going to share some ways that I take care of myself and hopefully they’ll inspire you to come up with your own system on how to love yourself best.
First, I had to learn that no is a complete sentence. In general, I often say more than I should, especially when saying no. No, I can’t come tonight because I’m not feeling well. No, I can’t commit to that because I have too much on my plate. No, I honestly just don’t want to (which nobody ever says but we all dream of saying.) But the truth is, we don’t have to give an explanation after we say the no. Sometimes for our own mental health, we just need to say no. Learn to say no. Learn not to be the person who always says yes and runs themselves into the ground. You have the freedom to say no. And you have the freedom not to give a reason behind your no.
Second, I allow myself to have a day (or two) where I just chill on the couch and watch Netflix. Currently I’m watching Boy Meets World from the beginning. Do I feel bad about watching 10 (or more) episodes in a row? Absolutely not. Sometimes you just need to give yourself a day to unplug from everything and binge watch whatever the heck you want. No judgment here, girl.
Third, I treat myself to an at-home facial 2-3 times per week. I either use a LUSH mask or something from Target, but you really can’t go wrong. It makes me feel relaxed and even my skin feels refreshed and energized afterwards!
Fourth, I am trying to take care of my body more. For me, this looks like drinking A LOT more water, limiting the amount of times I eat out, and doing some sort of physical activity every day. Whether it’s walking a mile on the treadmill, going to a yoga or spin class, or doing a 7 minute workout on my SWEAT. App, I want to be doing something. I’m not shooting for the stars and getting ahead of myself by signing up for 6am workouts every day and buying all the protein powder. We all have different strength levels, workout tolerance, and schedules to juggle. My workout may not look like yours, but I owe it to myself to try my best to do something every day. But most important, I’m not going to beat myself up if it doesn’t happen.
Last, I love reading. To me there are few things better than lighting a candle, turning on my twinkle lights, and curling up with a good book. From fiction to self-help to autobiographies, I’ll read just about anything. Recently I’ve given myself permission to stop reading a book if I’m not into it. Nobody is forcing me to read it, so why continue if I’m not enjoying it? Pro tip: I use the app Goodreads to keep track of the books I’ve read and the books I want to read. I only read one book at a time, so it’s great for keeping track of everything all in one place.
Hopefully these tips helped spark a few ideas of your own on how to best rest and recharge your system. Maybe you set aside the same day every week to have a “me” day. Maybe you have an hour every single day that is your “me” hour. We are all chasing dreams that look different, so don’t compare yourself, your journey, or your dream with anyone else’s. You do you, and be confident in that!
Kelsey is one of those people who will tell you that Texas is the best state and Nashville is the best city. She loves traveling, exploring, local coffee shops, and reading. Thankfully she has a job that allows her to do all of these things. She is fluent in sarcasm, wants to be Jess from New Girl, and above all wants to build other women up instead of tearing them down. All of her social media handles are @riotkelsey and she blogs over at riotkelsey.wordpress.com
*Photo by Christy Shaterian
