Day 9: Celebrate you

You may never know the difference you make in someone’s life. You may never know how something you said changed the course of someone’s life, saved someone’s life. So, when you’re feeling down and like no one cares, remember that you do make a difference.

Your challenge today is to celebrate you. Celebrate the fact that you are special and your presence makes a difference in this world. The world would not be the same with out you.

I’ll see you tomorrow!

Day 8: Contemplate the difference between practicing selfcare and being selfish.

Day 8: Contemplate the difference between practicing selfcare and being selfish. 

As women, we tend to put the needs of others above our own needs. When we do make time for ourselves, we are often plagued with guilt, feeling like we are being selfish for taking care of ourselves.

Your challenge today is to contemplate the difference between practicing selfcare and being selfish. Do you feel guilty when taking care of yourself? Do you want your definition of selfcare to be a guide for the women in your life that you love?

I’ll see you tomorrow!

Day 7: Decide what you’re willing to do

“To achieve what you’ve never achieved before, you need to do what you’ve never done before.” Unknown.

What are you working to achieve? What keeps you up at night? What gets you out of bed in the morning? What fuels that fire in your belly?

Your challenge today is to decide what you’re willing to do to achieve your dream. Going after your dream, with an open heart, is a form of self-love. Think about it, if you put your heart and soul into a dream, you are telling yourself that you are worth the effort it takes to achieve that goal.

I’ll see you tomorrow!

Day 6: Listen to your favorite love song

Music has the power to inspire intense emotions, it can make you laugh you laugh, cry. It can bring you back to that special place in time or project you into the future you are creating. 

Your challenge today is to listen to your favorite love song. It can be a song that makes you think of your special someone, empowers you to believe in yourself or connects you to your higher power.

Here are a few of my favorites:

A song to empower me

I Believe I Can Fly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK2ZuescJGA

A New Day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaGLVS5b_ZY 

A song that makes me think of my husband

Hero: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUePPJmfUOE 

A song that makes me happy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPUmE-tne5U 

I'll see you tomorrow!

Day 5: Write your own definition of success.

“The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it’s the same problem you had last year.” John Foster Dulles.

How do you measure success? Being clear about your own definition of success allows you to be able to measure it and make adjustments or changes based on what is truly important to you.

Your challenge today is write your own definition of success. Based on your definition, are you successful?

Day 4: Shake it off

Sometimes people say things to us that hurt our feelings, make us angry or leave us feeling confused. When that happens, it's easy to stew in these feelings and allow the situation to carryover into other areas in our lives. Before you know it, you're in a bad mood and people don't want to be around you.

One technique that I have found helpful in this situation is to shake it off. It is important to give yourself time to feel your feelings and then it is healthy to move on.

Your challenge today is to  shake it off!

Here are some ways you can shake it off:

• talk it out with a friend (be careful that this doesn't turn into a full blown venting session
• talk to the person that caused the upset and calmly share your feelings. This isn;t permission to make the other person wrong mind you. Share your feelings using this model: 
• when you...
• I felt...
• take a walk (if you're at work, move away from your desk and get a cup of water or seek solitude in the bathroom or outside)
• breathe
• listen to a song that inspires you
• actually shake your body as if you are shaking off the bad feelings

I'll see you tomorrow!

Day 3: Take yourself on a date

In Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way, she recommends that you take yourself on an artist date - time you dedicate to spending with yourself, once per week. You are encouraged to schedule the date on your calender just like you would a doctor’s appointment.

During the date, you do something that you enjoy. You don't have to spend a ton of money either. Here are some examples:

• go on a walk / nature hike
• garden
• read a book 
• take a nap
• go to your favorite coffee shop and hang out
• go the park
• go to a museum
• meditate
• go to the bookstore
• soak in the tub

The goal is to just spend time with yourself, doing something you enjoy. You know your life better than anyone, so you decide how much time you can invest on your weekly date. Maybe you can enjoy an hour of ‘me time’ one week and can barely squeeze in 15 minutes other weeks. The key is to be consistent.

Your challenge is to take yourself on a date. Where will you go? What will you do?

I’ll see you tomorrow!