Be kind to yourself.

On Tuesday I woke up in a funk, I didn’t want to get out of bed, I felt blah. I know that’s not really an emotion but I’m sure we have all felt blah before. Even so, I forced myself out of bed and went to the gym. Half way through my workout my body was talking to me saying, “We’re sore and aching! Please stop!”. This was probably because of Mondays workout, I decided to cut my workout in half and listen to my body.

Leaving the gym, I felt frustrated. At some point on my way home I had a random thought of my ex and a flood of sadness overcame me. Here I am, barely 8:30am feeling blah, sad, and frustrated. What a terrific way to start my day!

Once home I cooked a lovely breakfast and packed my lunch for the day. Recognizing my current state of emotions, I took a nice long shower, not trying to push those feelings aside but rather to embrace them in solitude before heading to work for the day. After the shower I took my time getting ready. Styling my hair, massaging my face lotion and sunscreen into my skin, trimming my facial hair, picking out my favorite cologne, jewelry, and outfit. While doing all of this I listened to my favorite music, that morning it was my Happy Playlist, Mika, Superfruit, Cher, and Stromae, just some fun light-hearted tunes. I said my daily goals and affirmations out loud and was good to go.

 Once all pampered and dressed for the day I looked in the mirror and I noticed a shift, obviously in my appearance, but also in my overall Being. I no longer felt sad or frustrated, I didn’t feel blah anymore. I felt excited, I felt love for myself, I felt happy and joyful, I felt sexy and was ready to charge into the day!
What happened? Where did that shift come from?

Let’s start with the emotions. I began by recognizing the emotions; the frustration, the sadness, and the blah. It’s easy to push out or ignore difficult emotion, let alone to face these feelings. By acknowledging our emotions and embracing them it allows us to experience them and have them move on, by not dealing with them they fester. Nothing good ever comes from something that festers. It’s like anticipating a difficult conversation with a friend or co-worker, the longer we wait the harder it is, the sooner we have that conversation the easier it is to move on.

The second shift that happened was that I was kind to myself. I allowed myself to have those emotions with no judgment, instead of festering on why I was having these emotions I simply allowed them to BE with no judgement. Also in being kind to myself I took the time that I needed for me. Whether it was taking the extra-long shower, listening to my favorite music, or pampering myself in my morning ritual.

Lastly, I picked out my favorite outfit, cologne, and jewelry, trivial things that bring me joy in my life. By looking good and feeling good about my outward appearance it made me feel all around better. With our minds and body being connected something as feeling better about our outward appearance makes our mind feel better. Which I’m sure you’ve read in some self-help book, because they all talk about it. Taking care of the body takes care of the mind and vice versa.

The point is, be kind to yourself. Take care of yourself. If you are having a blah day, take a minute and do something kind for you. Dance in the bathroom to your favorite music, put on your favorite outfit, get a haircut or a manicure. Do something special for yourself because you deserve it. As Rupaul says, “If you can’t love yourself how the hell are you going to love somebody else.” If you can’t care of yourself how can you care for others? So, be kind to yourself, take care of yourself, but above everything else, love yourself.

Take care.
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DJH