The last few years have forced me to spend a lot of time alone with myself.
During this time alone, I realized that I hadn’t been striving for anything, working toward a goal or really challenging myself like I used to. Instead, I’d been surviving the days and caring for my family. Along the way, I lost sight of me.
This year, I’ve decided it’s time to start investing more time and energy in myself.
Of course, after mentally declaring that I wanted to invest more in me, I had to actually figure out what that meant. (And be reasonable about it because I have two young children and a husband who travels a lot for work.) So, I asked myself:
- How much time could I reasonably dedicate to myself per day or per month?
- Out of everything I want to do, what would bring me the most joy now?
- What resources might I have available to me to meet my goals?
- How would the things I chose to do improve my life?
After some soul (and internet) searching, I was able to narrow down my interest to three investing in me activities.
- Reading One New Book a Month: I’ve had a growing list of books in my “Want to Read” section of my Goodreads app for some time. So, I took twelve of these books and put them on reserve, one a month, at my library. Now, I get a monthly notice that my new book is in and all I have to do is pick it up. Usually these books are 10 day reads, which provides me with a deadline. I’ve found this deadline to be very motivating. So far, I’ve been successful in keeping my one book per month goal!
- Refreshing My Spanish Skills On a Daily Basis: I took Spanish in school for over a decade, but I have not used it much in the last several years. In an effort to bring back my Spanish skills, I’ve started using the Duolingo app. With Duolingo, I was able to test into my level of proficiency, can spend as little as five minutes a day to meet my personal goals, and receive daily reminder to practice, which helps to keep me honest.
- Taking at Least 10,000 Steps a Day: I was gifted a Fitbit in the new year. While it has lots of fun features, I primarily use it to track my steps. It’s also been a great motivator for me to get outside and move.
I’m proud of myself for finding reasonable ways to invest in my well-being. Even though I’ve only been at it a few months, I already feel better mentally and physically. I’ve also found that when my bucket is full, I’m so much better at filling other people’s. These changes aren’t drastic, but they are for me and about me and I’M WORTH IT!
