Why It's Important to Take Care of Yourself

Being a mother is constant. It never stops. There is more written on each one of our daily “to do” lists than is humanly possible to achieve; and as if that’s not frustrating enough, we’re supposed to make motherhood look easy and show up to every function smiling and looking like beauty queens.

But, how is all of this possible with the full lives we already lead? Where are we supposed to find the time and energy to do it all?

Today I’m going to tell you a little bit about my story and how I learned why it’s so important to take good care of myself so you can be inspired to go and take good care of yourself.

If you would like more inspiration, download my Ultimate Guide to Guilt-Free Self-Care HERE!

And join us in the Life Designed Community on Facebook! 

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to A Life Designed.
 
My name is Tina Haisman. I help women who are struggling with the overwhelm of trying to balance being a wife, mother and career-woman.
 
When they work with me, they discover how to design their life so they can live in alignment with their priorities. I help them make the experience of their lives match their desires for their lives.
 
The topic of today’s podcast is …
 
Why It’s Important to Take Care of Yourself
 
But before we get started, I have something for you. It is my Ultimate Guide to Guilt-Free Self-Care. You can download it for free on my website, tinahaisman.com.
 
I would also like to invite you to my private group on Facebook where you can come to get positive inspiration for your life. Search A Life Designed in the facebook search bar.
 
Now let’s Dive IN and talk about …  Why It’s Important to Take Care of Yourself
 

• Today I’m going to tell you a little bit about my story and how I learned why it’s so important to take good care of myself so you can be inspired to go and take good care of yourself.

 

• I’ve always been known as a happy person. In fact, in high school my nickname was smiley.

 

• But somewhere along the way in life, something changed…life happened, I guess…but I didn’t really realize it.

 

• One day, back in 2007, I think. When my kids were 5 and 2 I found myself sitting on the side of my bathroom tub at 5 a.m., having just gotten dressed to go work out. I just sat there. I felt. Sad. Depressed. Lonely. Lost.

 

• I remember whispering a prayer out loud to God. I said, “God, I don’t think I can do this today.” I was looking at the daunting task ahead of me of staying home with my two children all day.

 

• Even though that was the life I chose to live, I was exhausted by it.

 

• How could that be? I was married to my prince charming. We lived in a beautiful home in Florida. We were healthy. I didn’t have to go to work to help support our budget. I had everything I ever wanted.

 

• God heard my prayer, of course he did, and he sent help almost immediately. He sent me a teacher to show me how to find my joy again and make my life what I wanted it to be!

 

• I want that for you. I want that for every mom.

 

• So the first reason WHY we should take care of ourselves is so we can be the woman we want to be to our children and husband.

 

• We only get one shot at this life. With this husband. With these kids.

 

• So many women think this self-care thing is selfish. I disagree, girlfriends.

 

• We HAVE GOT to take care of ourselves, or we will have nothing to give our husbands and children that we care so much about.

 

• You can not get water from an empty well, right?

 

• Fill up your well. Then, you will be able to be the best mother and wife you can be. The woman you WANT to be.

 

• The second reason we must take good care of ourselves is to bring more joy and peace into our homes.

 

• You know that saying, “If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!”

 

• Well, it’s true. As the woman of the household, we set the tone and the temperature for the house.  

 

• So, if we are stressed and frazzled … the rest of our house will mirror that stress.

 

• But if we are happy and relaxed … the rest of our house will soak that in and be more happy and relaxed themselves.

 

• Haven’t you ever noticed when you lose your cool and yell at one of your children, that the situation gets worse, instead of better? Yes.

 

• It’s because our yelling, causes them emotional upheaval and they then let it out with tears or yelling back.

 

• And what a mess we then have.

 

• So, we have to be intentional about taking care of ourselves so we can show up in our lives with more joy and more peace.

 

• The third reason it’s so important to take good care of ourselves is because it’s no one else’s job to do it.

 

• Girls. I am super-serious right now. This is a mistake many of us make. Especially when it comes to our husbands. I most certainly made it, and it almost cost me my husband.

 

• After all, the bible says, “And two become one.” And so that is how I thought it should be.

 

• Also, I saw my parents split when I was 10, so I had a subconscious fear of us splitting up.

 

• This placed a need on my husband from me to fulfill my happiness and quell my fear of us splitting up.

 

• This is not how marriage is intended to be. In fact, it is too much pressure to put on another person. Only God can be our sole emotional support.

 

• In marriage, we are intended to be two fully independent people who come together already happy … to love each other and grow into the best versions of ourselves.

 

• We are team mates! We work together, but we don’t need the other person to be responsible for making us happy.

 

• We need to take responsibility for taking care of ourselves so we can be well in mind, body and spirit.

 

• So, my question to you is this.

 

• Do you know how to take care of yourself in mind, body and spirit?

 

• Do you know what that looks like?

 

• Do you intentionally create space in your life to do the things that fill you up?

 

• If you’re like many women, your answer is no.

 

• I have a simple way for you to start doing that today.

 

• I want you to make a list of 20 things you like to do – keep your mind, body and spirit in mind as you make this list.

 

• Some examples are:
  • talking on the phone
  • lighting candles
  • eating chocolate
  • going out with a friend
  • journaling
  • listening to music
  • praying
  • taking a nap
  • running or exercising
  • reading
  • taking a bath
  • taking a class to learn something new

 

• I want you to make a list of the things you love to do. Print it out. Post it. Make it your wallpaper. Whatever you’ve gotta do! Then pick 1-3 of these things to do for yourself every day.
  
  
• Don’t tell me you don’t have time! You do! And here’s why.

 

• Taking care of yourself will expand your time. Wait. What did I just say? Yes. I said taking care of yourself will expand your time.

 

• You know this is true, because you’ve experienced it.

 

• Because when you are relaxed and happy you get more done. When you are stressed and frazzled, you get less done.

 

• You know how the printer always jams or runs out of ink when you have a deadline for something? Yes. That’s what I’m talking about. Stress = a mama jam. Let’s take care of ourselves so we can try to prevent those jams.

 

• Also, I would like to encourage you to leave white space in your day for enjoyment for yourself. Don’t schedule every moment of every day so there is nothing left and nothing to look forward to.

 

• And empower yourself to say, “no” sometimes. You don’t have to do everything that is asked of you.

 

• I want to see you master the skill of creating your own happiness and joy! Can you imagine how much better our world would be if more people would do this!

 

• Let your mood be your indicator! If you notice you are feeling stressed or grumpy, that should be your cue to take care of you! Got it!!

 
I know this is easier said than done. If you would like a little guidance and accountability as you work on it, please reach out to me! I have some great tools to help you along your journey! I would love to work with you.
 
Thank you so much for listening in. Please let me know if you have any specific questions.
 
Remember! To download your free Guide to Guilt Free Self Care and join us in the Life Designed community on Facebook.
 
Thank you! See you next week!