Fill Your Cup

            

             Self-care practices are the bread and butter of living a beautiful life for those of us facing depression and anxiety symptoms or even for those of us who aren’t. I know for me it is so important to take those times for myself to do something that relaxes me and allows me to reboot. I often have struggled to find this time and to be honest this summer has been a prime example of my struggle to do so. As I have been sharing for probably the last 6 months my life is in a huge state of change. I graduated, now have a big girl job, have moved, have watched friends move, and have started an entirely new stage of life.

            As I have started preparing my classroom I have dove in headfirst. Eager and excited to begin and make it my own. Spending countless hours hanging bulletin boards, poster, curtains, reading IEP’s, preparing lessons, analyzing data, going to trainings, and making each part of my classroom a reflection of my philosophies of teaching children in a comfortable and warm environment. While I have loved doing this and continue to love it the thought of self-care has been lost in my excitement. I have learned before the first student even walks into my room that I am going to have to create a delicate set of boundaries of where school starts and school ends in my life. I am going to have to find time for me in the fray of my first year of teaching and as many experienced teachers around me have shared, that can be very hard. I have decided in order to keep myself in check the boundaries need to be set now and a routine needs to be put into place so I make sure that I have provided myself with enough self care time to fill my cup. One of my favorite self-care quotes and a reminder is “ you can’t pour from an empty cup.” How true this quote is! I can’t be the best teacher I can be if my cup is empty and will find those boundaries to make me a better teacher, professional, and person in the end not just for myself but for my students and those around me.

In order to keep myself going and start off on the right foot I have decided to do a month long self love challenge. Each day I will participate in some form of self-love and care based on what the challenge has listed for me. I am going to do my best to post each day or every few depending on time limitations an update with pictures and results of the challenge. I am looking forward to spending time each day caring for myself and creating a deeper understanding of self along the way. I can’t wait to share with all of you and challenge you to find a way to care for yourself, whether it is through you following a long with the challenge or finding your own way. Just remember to fill your cup, it helps you share so much more of your beautiful self with the world.

Month Of Self Love Challenge

Day 1 – Write “I Love Me” somewhere, anywhere. On your skin, on your notebook, on your wall, in your journal, on a bathroom stall, in skywriting.

Day 2 – Practice self care in the form of pampering. Not all self care is decadent, but today it will be! Take a bubble bath, give yourself a pedicure, or get a massage!

Day 3 – Make a list of things you’re grateful for having in your life. Think of things you’re lucky enough to have and experience.

Day 4 – Give your inner critic a name and tell her to shut up! Think about the things you beat yourself up over and contemplate if those are things you would criticize your best friend for. Tell your inner critic you’re not going to listen to any of her crap anymore and from now on you’re going to be kind to yourself.

Day 5 – Make a list of things you’re body is capable of doing. Not necessarily things you love about it, but just the things it can do for you.

Day 6 – Meditate. Find a calm, quiet, safe place. Light a candle and find some soothing instrumental music or a guided imagery that appeals to you on YouTube. Sit or lay down and relax as you quiet your mind for no less than 20 minutes.

Day 7 – Make a list of difficult things you’ve dealt with and overcome. Celebrate your ability to handle adversity and be the strong person you are.

Day 8 – Ask your best friend to describe you. Accept all the compliments she gives you with grace because they’re true, write them down to refer to later, and give her a hug afterwards.

Day 9 – Make a list of your strengths, talents, and skills. What are you really good at doing?

Day 10 – Get up and moving. Dance, stretch, do some yoga, go for a run, walk around your neighborhood, hula hoop, go swimming. It can be in your bedroom, outside, or at the gym. It can be alone or with friends. Get your blood pumping to take care of your body!

Day 11 – Write down three of your imperfections and then write at least one reason for each as to why that imperfection is actually a sparkly (silver) lining.

Day 12 – Create a prayer box. Designate a specific box or container as a prayer box. Every time you find yourself worrying, stressing, or in need of releasing something to God write it down and place it in the box. 

Day 13 – Take yourself out on a date. Go somewhere alone on purpose to enjoy your company. Plan it out, turn your phone off, and be open to spontaneous change in plans because you don’t have anyone else to please.

Day 14 – Have a photoshoot with yourself. Set a timer on your camera, use a selfie stick, get a friend to take them for you, or just flip your cell phone so the camera is on you. Dress up in something you feel good and comfortable in and take photos of yourself because you’re gorgeous.

Day 15 – Write a love letter to your least favorite part of your body. Be honest about why you’ve had a difficult time with it in the past, but then get mushy about why it’s actually an amazing thing. What does it do for you, what does it allow you to do? Why are you lucky to have it?

Day 16 – Take pride in your workspace. Declutter, clean, organize. Your physical space is representative of your mental space; a cluttered mind equals a cluttered workspace. Make it a place you want to be! Decorate, add fresh flowers, sprinkle in your favorite colors.

Day 17 – Write down your achievements. Not just today or last year, but all of them. Think about awards you’ve won, conflicts you’ve handled, people you’ve allowed in your life. Things you’ve tried, things you’ve checked off your bucket list, things you said no to when you needed to. Everything.

Day 18 – Cook yourself an elaborate, nutritious, and delicious meal. Put down a tablecloth, turn on some music, spend time on how you present your plate to yourself. Fill your body with fuel for being a badass.

Day 19 – Write down how you’re likely to sabotage yourself. It might be procrastinating, eating poorly (or not at all), bottling up your emotions, or engaging in self harm. For each way you sabotage yourself, write three ideas for how you can prevent that from happening. At the bottom of your page write “MY MENTAL HEALTH IS IMPORTANT TO ME.”

Day 20 – Spend time with a friend or animal who makes you feel good. Do something fun and share your current feelings with them. Ask for help with something if you need it.

Day 21 – Write down what makes you feel strong or invincible. Now go do that thing, wear that necklace, or see that person. Make time for feeling strong today.

Day 22 – Create a positive affirmation that’s important to you. (Just a sentence or mantra of personal significance.) Write it on a sticky note or decorate a bigger piece of paper with those words and tape it up somewhere you’ll see it every day. From now on, when you see that piece of paper, you have to say the affirmation out loud.

Day 23 – Write down your biggest dream. The one that seems absurd you don’t just tell anyone. The one that would take a lot of work and time to reach. Say it out loud, maybe even tell someone you trust. Now write down the first five steps to reach that goal, no matter how small. It’s okay if there’s 20 or 100 more goals after those 5 before your goal is actualized. Say you’re going to do these first 5 steps in the next year, and make an effort to work towards #1 TODAY.

Day 24 – Go out and do something kind for someone else. The person might be a friend, coworker, or a stranger but the intent is the same: be kind.

Day 25 – Write down what you would have told your teenage self if you could. What does she need to know?

Day 26 – Express yourself creatively. Write a short story, paint on a canvas or your skin, film a fun video, make up a song, have a photoshoot.

Day 27 – Write down what your morals are. What are your virtues, what does integrity mean to you? Knowing your own value system is vital.

Day 28 – Play. Think about the things you enjoyed as a child and go do something with that same sense of wonder. Draw with sidewalk chalk, make a craft, pull a prank, jump rope, play a sport or board game with friends, play an instrument, visit an amusement park.

Day 29 – Do something you’ve been putting off. Something you won’t ever regret doing, something special. Maybe something from your bucket list!

Day 30 – Write yourself a love letter. Dear me, love me. Talk about how amazing you are the way you would write a letter to someone you were in love with or a best friend. Gush your heart out, get sappy and corny. Write for as long as you can.

Challenge courtesy of http://uncustomary.org/month-of-self-love-challenge/