This is my non-negotiable face being all, “Hey! Get your stuff done. It’s non-negotiable! In case you were wondering…
A few days ago, a dear friend of mine contacted me stating she had had a rough go of it lately and needed to really start amping up her self care. She was frustrated because she knew that she wanted to incorporate all of these things into her life, but she didn’t really know where to start.
Now there are many, many resources out in the world about starting habits. There are countless books and articles and such out there. Google it. Read up. Find a system that resonates with you. But I will give you one thing, just one, that can change your life and set you on your self-care habit path of joy. Here goes…
Give yourself a non-negotiable. Just one doable thing that you will do every day to meet your self-care goals.
Start with one non-negotiable thing. One thing that no matter what, you will make happen. If we choose just one thing daily, be it journaling for 5 minutes, making a well balanced breakfast, having a simple movement routine in the mornings, breaking out in a mid-day dance party, whatever, it will prove to ourselves that we are willing to show up. And it will create the practice of making space for ourselves.
That one, small thing may be it for a while, or you might find that showing up for that one thing naturally turns into more things, but you are doing something. And let me tell you, that one thing will have such a profound effect on the rest of your life.
One of the best pieces of advice I got for starting a home yoga practice is to only be committed to giving yourself a 15-min gift every day. That takes all of the lofty, ego-filled expectations out and you can practice for longer than 15 minutes if you feel like it.
So what is your non-negotiable? To start, make a list of a few things you want to be doing and then pick the easiest one or the one that makes your heart sing the most. Dedicate yourself to that one thing for 3 days, maybe even a week, and see how you feel. Be curious. Have fun with it. And you can always switch it up.
I shall leave you with a practical, yet profound quote from Aristotle:
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
And another more different insight from the brilliant Lucille Ball:
“Love yourself first, and everything else falls in line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.”
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