Happy Valentine’s Day!
Today is a good day to take stock of those areas of life that you do not give yourself the things that you actually want and need. I’m not talking about buying yourself gifts. Those are short-lived things that you can’t take with you. I’m talking about the things that really matter, like healthy meals every day or getting time outdoors, going for a walk or some other type of activity every day (going from your home to your car is NOT ENOUGH!). Taking stock of those things that you are denying yourself can be enlightening. You can sit down and pull out your calendar, even if you don’t normally use one. You can begin scheduling in time-slots for you to do these things. You can ask yourself questions like how long does it take for me to prepare a healthy meal? What is the best time of day, weather-wise, to spend time outdoors? What type of clothing is required for my area? Example: I live in the north east of the United States. It’s been cold. It’s been snowing, then raining, then freezing, then melting, then freezing again. The wind has been intense as well. For this weather, I wear snow boots with plenty of traction and put on layers as this will keep me the warmest. Acceptance of your environment is huge to be able to enjoy it. What else have you not been giving yourself that you need for your mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health? Are you meditating every day? What about things like yoga? Taking time meditation and for self reflection is an important practice. Meditation and self reflection are different however. It’s popular to call reflection “meditation”, however, they are different. Do you take time to simply be in the moment? Just focus on your breath and let go of all thoughts? This is Meditation. When practiced every day, it radically calms the mind. Don't worry if you're not "good at it"! Just taking time to focus on it every day without trying to be "better" at it will work wonders on your subconscious. Visualizations are wonderful for focusing the mind on an outcome you would like. This helps you train your subconscious mind to live as though the outcome is already yours. When you do this, you naturally take the actions that you need to accomplish that goal. Self reflection is when you do things like what I’m suggesting right now. When you take stock of yourself and your own actions or lack there of and then choose to change them or multiply your energy to do even more. It allows you to see yourself as you really are instead of lazily making the same old excuses over and over for yourself. It can make you into a far better person, even though, most are convinced that they’re already a great person. Lol! We all have things to work on. Be gentle with yourself but be disciplined enough to see what needs changing. Be disciplined enough to identify those simple, healthy things that you deny yourself with a million excuses why and then add them, replete with alarms, to your calendar. Life will not change for you unless you take action toward that which is healthy and essential. Humans were not designed to sit on a couch glued to a TV or computer screen. All children need structure to thrive. Though the excuses and the whining of your Inner Child might be loud at times, take time out to take care of your basics and watch your life blossom.
~Janice M. Burke
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