4 Levels of Family Care
“Never let the urgent crowd out the important.” ~ Kelly Catlin Walker. Families that play together, stay together. It is easy to get lost in the responsibilities of family life and forget self-care and play time. Here are four levels of family care to consider: 1. Self-care: Time for you to play and relax on your own, or with friends or people outside your home life. 2. Partner-Care: Time for your partner to play and relax on his own, or spend time with people outside the home. Action step: Make a list of things you would love to do for yourself and then share this list with each other. Discuss how to support one another to experience self-care regularly (ie, prioritizing, scheduling, sharing duties, asking […]
Scheduling Time to Play
An Interview with the Caregiver Times ~ A Newsletter for People Who Are Caring for Family and Friends. SG: From your perspective as a life coach, how important is play and what role can play have in the lives of family caregivers? VG: Unfortunately, play can easily get set aside. Play is something we think is for children and not for us adults, but it’s actually something we need to make a priority and keep it in the forefront of our minds. Continue reading here… * * * Related Training: Remembering to Play ~ Inspiring Joy, Freedom & Self-Care Cultivating Intuition ~ The Heart of Healthy & Productive Decision Making Keynote information Related Reading: Flour Play […]
15 Ways to Say No
“There is a difference between being self-centred, and centred in the Self.” ~ Lynda Austin. For many, saying No is a challenging task. We have been brought up to believe that putting ourselves first is bad, selfish or wrong. Yet when the oxygen mask drops on the airplane, who do you put it on first, you or your child? Making onenself a priority is essential to healthy, happy and productive living. To do this, we may have to say No to certain people who could redirect us from listening to our own needs and practicing self-care. 15 simple ways to say No: That won’t work for me. That doesn’t resonate/feel right. I feel I need to take time for me right now. My body really […]
15 Ways to Express Needs & Desires
“There is a difference between being self-centred and centred in the Self.” ~ Lynda Austin We have been trained not to ask for what we want. We will bend ourselves backwards, deny our feelings, and burn ourselves out all to avoid stating our needs. Our social conditioning, and specifically our inner Saboteur, holds us back by stating that putting ourselves first is selfish or wrong, or that we should always give to others first. And yet, we cannot give away what we don’t have. In other words, we must learn to give to ourselves first, fill our own cup so to speak, before we can feed others. “Everything we want is on the other side of fear.” ~ Farrah Gray Our social conditioning is based in fear. The […]
Selfishness & Life Balance ~ The Path to Self-Care
When we think of life balance we imagine having more time for ourselves, taking better care of our health and spending more time with loved ones. Often when we struggle to create more room for what we want externally it is because it’s in direct conflict with who we think we “should” be, or what we think we “ought” to be doing. What is wanted externally conflicts with internal beliefs and expectations. One of the most common beliefs that impede that path towards balance is that being selfish is bad or wrong. People grow up in an environment where the very thought of putting yourself first is completely unacceptable. It is ingrained that value and self-worth comes from being productive and putting others first. People […]