Self Care September Week Four: Everything Counts

So September, what’s up? Why did you come and leave so quickly? I honestly don’t know where last month went. It was a pretty good month. I wanted to recap my last week and just share my thoughts around making self care the theme for an entire month. I can definitely say that going through the motions of doing something versus having intention behind why you are doing something makes a world of difference. Week four I focused on simply getting my body moving more as well as the typical things people think of when it comes to self care.

Since my move last year I have not really gotten into an exercise regimen and I want to get back to it. I have a love/hate relationship with working out – basically I love to hate it. As my thoughts around my body started to change though, that has also slightly changed. When I was younger the only reason why I would even attempt to work out was because I wanted to be skinny. So I would try to work out and go on some crazy diet. I would get fed up when I didn’t see results immediately and just give up. Patience who now appreciates the body she has just wants to be a healthy active person. I have seen the effects that working out has on me mentally and physically. I love feeling strong and in control of my body. I love when I do things that some people think bigger bodies can’t or shouldn’t do – like pole dancing classes or boxing lessons. And honestly I enjoy seeing the changes in my body and how my clothes fit differently. Although not the #1 goal, it does the ego good to know that your hard work pays off

Last week I wanted to just start by getting my body moving again. I work a desk job so most of the time I am tapping away at a computer, frequently working through breaks. I decided that I would eat lunch while working and go outside to walk for at least 30 minutes during my lunch break. I did it four out of five days and that’s only because it rained one day. Stepping out to move really was nice. I will often just sit in the break room but using my time more wisely made it easier to not feel the dread of having to try to fit in the walk when I got home in the evening. And who doesn’t love when they reach their steps goal for the day right?! I have continued walking this week but had to get a little creative. It is still hitting close to 90 degrees here and I don’t do heat. So instead of walking outside I picked a large store that I walked at a good pace for 30 minutes – still hit reached my steps and I didn’t buy anything unnecessary (good job Patience.)

Since the entire month I worked hard to stick to my budget, I wanted to let myself indulge in the fun side of self care as well – spending money! Something that I’ve wanted to do for quite some time is get my car detailed. One day after a long day at work I drove myself directly to that place and when they were finished me and D (that’s my car yall lol) drove off looking good. I also bought a couple décor pieces for my place – two beautiful tables for my bedroom that have a white and gray marble top with accents of gold. I can’t forget about a super cute dress that I caught on sale. You want to know the best thing about the money that I spent? I didn’t feel guilty at all about it afterwards. I had the money to spend, I wasn’t spending just to spend it, and I knew how stern I was with myself the entire month so I was able to let myself partake without feeling bad.

September was filled with so much intention for me and I am going to carry it on into this month. There are things that I started in week one that I am still continuing because I am enjoying it. I think what I really learned from this whole thing is that no matter how small a gesture may seem, anything that you do to be more kind to yourself is considered self care. Self care won’t always look like going to the mall and buying everything you see, getting your nails done or a 60 minute massage. It might just be you saying out loud to yourself how proud you are of yourself or pushing to drink just one extra glass of water for the day.

What I also realized is that there is nothing that is nothing wrong with doing things to spoil yourself as a form of self care. Planning a weeklong trip with friends, bae or solo, buying the purse (and the shoes) or letting yourself have your favorite restaurant are things that we all should do when we can afford to. Self care is in the eye of the beholder. I know some people may read this series and not consider anything I did self care at all and that is just fine with me. But I know what my intentions were behind everything I did. It wasn’t perfect. I had bad days and found myself falling into old habits at times but reflecting over the four weeks I can say with certainty that I was pretty good to myself. Every intentional act of kind kindness I showed myself counts.