In our roles as Mums, we juggle a million hats from chef, counselor, nurturer, chauffeur, sports captain and sports cheer squad (yes, all of them sometimes!), accountant, adjudicator and so much more. It’s exhausting just listing our many hats and some we wear all at once!
But even the most accomplished hat wearers among us lose our steam sometimes – I think we all do – so as we get ready to celebrate Mother’s Day 2017 this Sunday, May 14th, here are some ways to remember to put our feet up and set some goals that will keep us re-energized, healthy and happy. Happy mum, happy home.
My biggest tip; remember your why.
Why do we need more energy, why do we willingly wear these hats? I think the answer is a resounding – because we love our children. And we want to be there to help them to become the best possible version of themselves.
So, grab a pen and a notepad and take a moment to write down your reasons why you want more energy, more time, more fitness, more holidays or more surprise flowers. When my partner asks me what else he can pick up from the grocery store for dinner, I sometimes will add, ‘some beautiful flowers please.’
My motivating force for taking great care of myself is - I want my daughters to know their mum as a strong, independent and beautiful person, inside and out.
So, with the gentle presence of love, let’s honour the beauty of who we are. We are incredibly strong, independent, fabulously-stylish, beautiful plus-size mums, inside and out!
How we look inside and out makes a huge difference in how we feel and in how we personally influence others. Let’s add some sparkle and put a smile on someone’s face when we walk down the street, simply because we feel great!
Here’s to us X Happy Mother’s Day!
Seven super tips for creating more energy and a life you love.
1. Little steps
Be gentle with yourself and set small achievable goals. Little steps set you up to win from the beginning. This is not a game that you are setting up to fight against yourself to lose. Little steps. If you want to be more productive in your day, try waking up earlier.
I have getting up at 5am and I love it, most mornings. I found with my menopause, I rarely slept through the night. Meaning I would wake easily and stay awake.
By getting up at 5am I now sleep through the night, I wake up refreshed and I am more productive. I meditate for 20 to 30 minutes and then I may work out gently or do some yoga and stretching and I love that I have done all this, quietly on my own before the rest of our home wakes up or even before the gentle hum of the city awakens. I then find my writing flows – I am writing my first novel – my writing flows and all this I accomplish before noon. I love it.
2. Be kind to yourself and affirm the positive.
Focus on the ‘do’ goals, not the ‘don’t’ goals.
Goals that are focused on don’t, i.e. don’t eat hot chips are much harder to stick to than ‘do’- do eat nutrient dense food.
Again, set your rules up for success, set easy steps that affirm the positive.
3. Be easy on yourself when you suffer a setback.
Nobody wants to be perfect. We are all flawed, fabulous, unique and learning. In movement and change there is growth and as our children and grandchildren grow we want to be growing and learning with them.
If you have a setback and fall off the path of your goals, just learn from it and press reset. Start again. We are constantly learning and it’s a scientific fact that a mind that is learning is an agile and intelligent mind.
4. Spoil Yourself!
Success is about loving and being happy with yourself. Remember to celebrate being you, this energy will permeate every aspect of your life. Little steps, book a massage or a long luxurious bath or yes even nut encrusted dark chocolate.
I read somewhere once a habit of creating a drawer of treats for yourself and filling it with your favourite things like your favourite scented hand cream, candles, your favourite book, a favourite face mask, a dark chocolate treat. The purpose of the drawer was to create a treasure chest of delights just for yourself. I love this idea.
5. Get your beauty sleep.
You are getting up earlier so this one just makes sense. Your skin will look better and your mood and memory will improve significantly. This one’s a no brainer.
6. Surround yourself with people you love and who light you up.
These are the people who light up when you share your dreams with them. They just make you feel great about being you. Perhaps extend your circle and meet new friends, try joining a book club. The number one habit that successful people do daily is read!
Reading challenges, us and opens our minds, reading enhances our conversational skills. Today it is not uncommon to see couples and groups dining in cafes or restaurants huddled over their smart phones, I’m not sure how smart it is to disengage with phones over meals, it’s a little like taking a walking television out to dinner.
7. Take a day for yourself!
Go outside more!
We are so lucky to live here in beautiful Australia. The great outdoors really is just so, so beautiful. We have the best just at our doorstep. So, getting outside and stepping up our game with some exercise is a great way for us to reenergize and appreciate all we have.
Exercise helps to make us more focused, energized and healthier. It is all win, win.
Our lives are busy, we take on a myriad of new challenges both at work, with our families and running about doing favours for loads of people. This is all fantastic so long as we are remembering to take time for ourselves.
Being busy doesn’t give you time to reflect or even to connect with yourself. This makes life more challenging and perhaps less sweet because you are missing out on really knowing who you are and what your dreams and goals may be.
This Mother’s Day why not remember to make plans to spend more time reconnecting with you.
Let us know what little steps are your favourite ways to factor in self care. This could be as small showing your appreciation for you friends, family and loved ones through gifts. You could start right here, shop gift vouchers and new arrivals now.
Have a wonderful Mother’s Day.