SELF

I’ve seen a lot of people choose a “word of the year”. This word is supposed to symbolize something for the person to focus on, maybe their “why” for the year, or their purpose. I’ve never done this before, as generally I don’t get into that stuff, but this year I’ve been thinking about it. After much thinking, I’ve decided that my word for 2023 is “Self”. I like to give myself options, so this can be self-care, self-awareness, self-preservation, selfish, whatever I want…but in 2023 I am going to take a bit of advice I’ve given friends all too often, which I’m not great about following myself.

You can’t take care of anyone if you don’t take care of yourself first.

One of my constant struggles in life is taking care of myself. I’m not unique. I’m pretty sure if you talk to 100 women, 99 of them will admit to not putting themselves first. So for 2023, one of my areas of focus is “self”. I will remind myself of this when I start to feel guilty about taking time to be creative, treat myself to self-care, read a book, sit quietly with my thoughts, meal plan and get those workouts in before doing anything else, etc.

It’s a new year, so everyone has resolutions, changes, improvements on their mind. Think about what area(s) of your life you find challenging and then think about what you could do to make it less of a challenge.

• Finances a struggle – consider finding help with budgeting
• Worried about your physical and/or mental health – list things that would improve either (or both simultaneously) and choose 2 of those things to implement this month!
• Wish you had more down time – list a few activities that when you finish you feel a sense of calm. For me, creativity is such a great way to break my mind spiral. Knitting, reading a book, and exercise also come to mind for me. What calms you? Schedule time in your week for a few “sessions” of whatever that is.

We all have a ton of things that cause challenge in our lives. Let 2023 be the year where you start to take control over the challenges and live a better, happier life.