I have a challenge for you. I would like you to commit to giving yourself a gift once a week.
Why do we give so much to others but not for ourselves? That is slightly rhetorical because the answer doesn’t matter as much as the actions we take once we realize the imbalance. We are so committed to our job, our family, all of our responsibilities, why don’t we commit to giving ourselves something a little special and maybe even decadent every now and then? The key to this assignment is that the gift is not necessarily for any purpose but to give ourselves pleasure. So if you choose to go take a nice walk, this won’t be a walk to you’re your heart rate up to your target fat burning zone and maintain a certain stride to accomplish your caloric deficit to lose weight. Instead, this walk will be for you to simply spend some quiet time with yourself; not with your phone, catching up on to do lists in your head, or getting in your workout.
These types of gifts have a softer energy around them. For example if you want to give yourself a nice afternoon at a park, bring a comfortable blanket, take the time to prepare or purchase a yummy meal for yourself, bring your favorite book or magazine, turn your phone off or don’t even bring it. Or you might simply get an ice cream cone from your favorite local creamery. The key will be in how you eat it, where you eat it, how fast you eat it, if you scroll through your Facebook page while you are eating it so you aren’t even aware of what you are doing or where you are.
I want to not only give you this challenge giving yourself a gift every week but I want to give you full permission to create a setting where you really enjoy it and can savor the moments of the experience you are in. I invite you to notice what you feel while you are practicing this act of self care and self love. Sometimes we might feel we aren’t worthy or there are so many other things that are more important we should be doing. Just notice those thoughts and say kindly to yourself, ‘I am taking some time out for me right now because I deserve it, I will get to everything else in a little while. This is my time.’
When we were kids we would go ride our bikes and play for hours and find unbridled joy in the simplest of things. We would just be and that would be enough. Now we barely find time to take a bath much less sit at the beach and enjoy a sunset, and really be there with it.
Go ahead and start planning. I think I will go to my favorite neighborhood café and have a lovely cup of herbal tea and read a novel that I can’t ever seem the time to start reading. What will your gift to yourself be this week?