3 Reasons you don’t have to feel guilTy taking time for you

We recently started a Healing Through Love Facebook group to help support moms and women. The one thing that so many of these women, as well as so many other women I have met along my journey claim, is that they feel guilty for taking time for themselves. Things like working out, making themselves a nutritious meal, taking a walk, taking a bath, meditating, or reading a book, suddenly become like a dream.
​ “If I only had more time..."

Why is that we, as moms and women, feel so much guilt wrapped around taking a mere half hour for ourselves every once in a while? We dedicate our lives to taking care of everyone else, why is it so wrong for us to try to take care of ourselves?

We have this preconceived notion that it is ‘selfish’ of us to take even a little bit of time for us. I know for me, when my kids were younger, if I tried to take a half hour to workout, I would spend the whole time thinking about what I “should” be doing instead, or the list of things that I really needed to be doing. So the workout become more of a frustration than an enjoyable experience. 
Ladies, we have to break this myth wide open!! It is total and complete BS!! 
Not only is self care not selfish, it is absolutely 100% NECESSARY!! Let me tell you why:

First, we have all heard the saying, “you can’t pour from an empty cup.” Well, It’s the truth. When we are exhausted, stressed out, and frustrated. We are never going to be giving our family, our home, or our job our best. In fact, the honest truth is we begin to resent all of them  because “we never have 5 minutes for ourselves.”

Next, when we do begin to spend even 15 minutes a day with ourselves, we will feel so much better, so much more relaxed, and actually HAPPY! Whether it is taking a walk with our headphones on, taking a calming salt bath, getting in a quick workout, or listening to some guided meditations, it will shift our mood for the entire day, and our families and employers will actually THANK US FOR IT!

Last but not least, we DESERVE It, we are WORTHY of it, and it is our RESPONSIBILITY to do it! There should be no guilt in taking care of ourselves. By taking time for ourselves, we are actually MODELING for our children how they, too, should be taking time for themselves. Our children watch everything we do, and when they see mom taking time to workout, make a nutritious meal, go for a calming walk, or meditate and take a salt bath, they will grow to understand how important self care really is. They will see mom go from frustrated and upset to relaxed and happy. What an amazing lesson this is to teach our children!

So ladies the next time that ugly guilt monster rears it’s ugly head, tell it to be quiet. Because you have a very important example to set for your children!!

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