Took Us A Break

   
     In this era of self care and mindfulness, do we actual practice what we preach? Most importantly, what happens when we do?

    As many of you noticed, I didn't blog much in 2017. I blogged 2 times to be exact. I put myself on a much needed hiatus. After the death of my grandmother in 2016, I just needed a second to reconfigure. I set out to do just that as 2017 approached. I had multiple jobs, each leading to one better. It was an amazing year of career catch up. It was as though the years that I was stagnant for 6 1/2 years in one job was being made up for by the universe.

     Two of the biggest lessons that I learned in 2017 that I am taking into 2018 was to know my worth and take (calculated) risks.  Many of these risks came in the form of job changes.  When I saw that I was undervalued and being treated poorly, it was as though an internal signal kicked me into high gear to find something more worthy of me. I listened each time. After my grandmother's death, I decided to live my life with no regrets and to not settle for anything or anyone not worthy of me. In the long run, that is the best self care of all. If I felt like my time was being wasted, I wasn't going to continue dealing with it.

     I also carved out more time for myself. I've always been a big believer that you can't enjoy the company of others if you can't stand your own company. I'd done this before, but I did it on a much bigger scale this time.  I went back to meditating, which has helped tremendously. I even created a vision board. I began to sharpen my focus and and quiet my mind of thoughts that weren't positive.

   
     What I also found was that self care often involves say "no" to things and people that would diminish your spirit. Many times, we worry about being mean and end up jeopardizing our well being in the process. I was determined not to do this anymore. I decided to be more hands on in the creation of my best life. My goal is to take center stage in my life and seize my aspirations and passions.

     There comes a point when we have to hit pause and see where we are. We have to be brave enough to look internally without fear and work towards being the best version of ourselves without hesitation.