The term showing up for yourself has exploded in popularity recently and rightly so! It’s a truly incredible paradigm shift to make in one's mind to help provide an incredible sense of wellbeing and achievement.
But what does it mean exactly?
Simply put, showing up for yourself means making sure your needs take priority and focus in your life. It doesn’t matter if they’re physical, emotional, spiritual, etc. We live a significant portion of our lives in ‘auto-pilot’ completing tasks without any thought which can lead to feelings of being lost and aimless.
Here are 5 simple ways to show up for ourselves!
Acknowledge who you are and who you are not. Feelings of anxiety, depression and negativity can arise often because we are not being true to ourselves. By knowing who we are completely, we can start changing our actions to move in desired directions. Without this, showing up for ourselves is like trying to find treasure on a map without knowing where we are to start with!
Set aside time for yourself. Even if we have time to spare, the temptation is to spend that time mindlessly browsing social media or other distracting activities that don’t actually serve us. Start with 20 minutes a day to cater to your internal needs. It can be short mediation, walking or spending time to make sure you eat healthier. Make sure it’s something you want to work on and prioritize it as much as you prioritize your other important activities.
Start listening to your own self-talk. This is similar to mindfulness but more specific. Spend time during the day to see what negative self-talk you subject yourself to, whether it's claiming you’re not good at something or labeling yourself as something negative, really pay attention to it. Then move to step 4.
Create a powerful affirmation. Logically we know what thoughts don’t serve us, but kicking them out is a whole other story. Rehearse a powerful mantra designed to counterbalance a negative thought you notice yourself having and repeat it 5 times a day. Then watch that negative self talk melt like butter on a hot pan!
Use a gratitude journal. We’ve talked about gratitude and creative journaling before, so why not combine them? Maybe reflect on one thing that made you smile and write about it or even draw what happened! It can be a great way to really cement in your mind's eye how truly blessed we are.
Take it one step at a time but show up for yourself! With love, MaryAnngeline
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