Hello beautiful people!
Let’s support these changes with some radical self-care!
Well, you are engaged in more self-care today than you were before embarking on this 100-day challenge, but in general, I’m willing to bet that you’ve shortchanged yourself of the type of support you need. Especially while undergoing major changes.
And I can tell you from first-hand experience: The more we lovingly support ourselves as we expand, the more the universe floods in to welcome us to new heights. (Tweet it.)
Listen up!
Sometimes, it’s just the act of walling off space for yourself to be nurtured that frees you up to achieve more than you’ve ever been able to achieve. It may seem counterintuitive that building a massage or a walk or a nap into your schedule somehow makes you a more productive creative but that’s exactly what happens when we replenish without apology.
In case you’re not sold on the whole self-care thing, let me toss some science your way. The prefrontal cortex (responsible for stress regulation, cravings, appropriate behavior and actions, judgment, all that cool executive function stuff) disengages from the here and now when we relax enough to imagine, fantasize, allow ourselves to disconnect fully from all the SHOULDS of our lives. When this happens, we fortify the dendrites that stress itself weakens! We actually become more creative, smarter, and more resilient beings when we allow complete and total self-care! (This is why it must be unapologetic self-care, y’all. If we’re mired in guilt about our self-care *while* we unplug, we’ve not allowed for the brain-reboot that self-care is, otherwise.)
It’s not what you choose to do, it’s that you choose to do something to give back to and care for yourself in this way that will make all the difference. Setting the intention to provide yourself the support your very brain craves teaches you (and everyone in your life) that you are to be treasured. (Because you are.) You’re carting around a creative vessel that has great purpose in this lifetime. Treat it with the respect it deserves.
Budgeting for self-care tells the universe, “I’m doing important work here as an artist, and especially before my buyers are paying my next-tier rate, I must support myself to do my best storytelling work with treats and wellness and reminders that my work is of great value.”
Whether your radical self-care happens extravagantly or modestly, it is your commitment to investing in yourself and replenishing your well that is key here. There is no wrong way to do this. Show yourself you’ll provide support for this growth — helping create a foundation for the you who stretches all the way to the highest tier you’ve dreamed you’ll reach — and that version of you will become a reality sooner and more fully than you’ve imagined.
We do this with our SMFA Escape. Upon arrival, we ask participants to look for things they can bring back home with them. Because while leaving town, fully clocking out, and being outside your comfort zone makes room for major shifts, being able to sustain the growth in the daily environment you’re used to requires touchstones from the spaces in which we’ve gotten that deep dive of radical self-care.
This incubation period for next-tier you requires nurturing. Please be sure you’re engaging in that. You’ll find increased energy and glee just for having so completely supported yourself in this fully-committed way. It’s as though your body and soul learn to relax about trying to get your attention when you prove you will listen while there are whispers (well before there’s a need for any screams).
’til tomorrow… stay ninja!
