This past week has been especially hellish. My dad suffered a health setback that is still ongoing. I got to his side just as quickly as I could, and then my mom came down with a stomach bug. When I finally got back to my little family, late in the week, I rallied to get through three critical medical appointments for Happy while knowing, based on the shape that my stomach was in, that I was coming down with the same stomach bug. When we finally got home from that last appointment, I turned the television on for Happy, sat him on my bed, and crawled under the covers.
That’s not normally how I roll as a mom but, seriously, I couldn’t sit upright one more minute or speak one more word because the nausea was so bad.
On the way home from the doctor’s office, feeling so beat down over my dad’s setback, feeling exhausted over the late nights and early mornings, feeling a bit defeated at the growing to do list and inbox, and just feeling generally gross, I asked myself my favorite question in my self-care, self-awareness arsenal.
WHAT DO I NEED RIGHT NOW MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE?
The answer was rest. And so rather than forcing myself to pretend to feel better than I actually did, I yielded to what my body most needed and got in bed.
I’m still recovering but I know that I would still be straight out sick had I not just stopped when I allowed myself to recognize that’s what I needed.
Too often, we push past our own inner-knowing and force ourselves forward on some stated course. We aren’t great about checking in with ourselves and meeting our needs right at critical moments because we are programmed to do, do, do.
But asking “what do I need right now more than anything else” and then actually meeting that need can be a game changer in your relationship with yourself. You begin to collect proof that you can take care of you, that you can be sensitive to yourself, that you can adapt as needed. Really good self-care is all about self-awareness and self-awareness comes from asking yourself the essential questions, waiting for and then respecting the answers.
Right now, I want you to ask yourself this critical question. And I want you to patiently wait for your answer and then give it to yourself in some way today. Don’t hesitate to meet your needs. You are the one person responsible for your overall health and sense of well-being and it is critical that you actively take care of yourself.
So, what do you need right now more than anything else? How will you give it to yourself?
I need a hug.
Does a virtual hug help? Sending it your way. And do give yourself one, too. Our own personal touch can be soothing, too. Sending love and light across the way.