Celebrating Winter Solstice

Winter solstice is when the days are shorter, darkness settles on the Earth, the weather seems colder, and hibernation is ideal. However, the winter can be a time of rest, stillness, and reflection.

I remember growing up in Detroit, Michigan, where winter lasts longer than any other season. I vowed never to live somewhere that winter existed. And so I kept that promise to myself, finding myself running away from the brutal cold. But upon relocating to Virginia at the beginning of this year, I realized it was time to confront my resentment of winter.

Whether hot, cold, or warm, every season has a specific time. I knew that as much as I loathed winter, it was time to embrace its significant role in my life.

Through my self-discovery, I learn winter is a time when I can slow down, meditate and reflect on my growth. With the end of 2022, I’m deciding to celebrate the onset of winter and not travel for the holidays. I decided to go into 2023 refresh, free and focused.

Over the years, I spent so much time on autopilot throughout the year, barely taking time to pause. But the older I get I want more moments of reflection. The winter solstice can give you time to prepare for the upcoming year in a calm, relaxing, and rejuvenating way.

So before you take a resentful path towards winter, figure out how to use this time to refocus and plan for your 2023.

The Self-Care Plan: Bringing It Together (Part 2)

You can access this podcast episode here: https://youtu.be/aPlFEGQCrOU

Definition: Self-care can best be described as the intentional actions that are taken to preserve your mental, emotional and physical well-being.

Self-care is an essential part of your well-being. It plays a valuable role in your mental, emotional & physical health. When you make an intentional effort to preserve your mental, emotional and physical care then it produces healthy results in other areas of your life. When you decide to put your well-being first, it can clarify what stressors affect your mind, body, soul & spirit.

In my self-care journey, I learn how to cope with stress, anxiety & anger. Creating an individual self-care plan has given me a peace of mind during difficult times. When you begin to make yourself a priority, things in your life will shift. No longer will you feel neglected, tired, burnout or unappreciated. Overall, it is a personal responsibility to take care of your well-being. When you try to delegate this responsibility to others, then disappointment and frustration will be a continuous result.

Below I am going to give you guidance on how to bring your self-care plan together.

First Step: In a journal/poster board list all categories for your plan starting with mental, emotional & physical as top categories.

Second Step: The categories will range from 6-8 depending on what specific areas are important to you.

For example your categories may be as follows:

• Mental
• Emotional
• Physical
• Spiritual
• Social/Relational
• Professional
• Recreational
• Financial

Image Reference: https://www.blessingmanifesting.com/2017/07/what-is-self-care.html

Third Step: Once you have listed all your categories then it is time to list your coping strategies. I suggest listing 3 to 5 coping strategies for each category so you will not overwhelm yourself

For example under my mental self-care I would put meditation, prayer, reading inspirational quotes/books etc.

Below is a brief example of my self-care plan…..

• Mental: meditation, prayer, reading inspirational devotions/books
• Emotional: therapy, journaling, setting boundaries
• Physical: walking, being in nature, healthy routine for eating/medical checkups

Once you have finished listing three to five coping strategies, you are done with your self-care plan. You can always add more coping strategies later, but sticking with three to five will help you implement one or two each day during the week. Once you implement a strategy consistently, you will see a change in your life.

*To create your self-care plan you can download the free e-book here: https://payhip.com/b/znTZ *

The Self-Care Plan: Establishing A Plan (Part 1)

You can listen to this podcast episode here: https://youtu.be/SazIorpNnEY

In this new age of promoting self-love, self-care, and self-confidence, many people are clueless about beginning the journey. If they have encountered experiences in their past dealing with mental, emotional, verbal, or physical trauma, then starting a self-care process can be challenging. 

In 2015 I was introduced to the concept of self-care. However, I only had a surface-level understanding of this word. As years began to pass, I began to dig deeper into the self-care phenom. My self-care journey was triggered by the loss of my two-year-old daughter. For several years, I was going through so many mental transitions I had no idea what I was dealing with until later on.

After seeking answers concerning my mental health, I was confronted with the idea of suffering from PTSD, GAD (generalized anxiety disorder), mood swings, and anger issues. When I was able to come to the realization of how I internalize my trauma, this is when I knew it was time to go deeper into my self-care journey.

The first step was to come to terms with how my mental health affected every area of my life. I knew it was time to create a self-care plan that reached beyond bubble baths, manicures, pedicures, and shopping. My self-care path began by attacking the deep-rooted mental issues. 

In 2015, I began to create a self-care plan that has evolved over time. Now I know that my mental, emotional, spiritual, physical, social/relational, and financial self-care is a top priority.

Below I am going to list ways you can start establishing a self-care plan for yourself. 

1. Acknowledge the past traumatic experiences. When you go deeper to identify the experiences in your past that have an effect on your adulthood, then you can gain clarity on where to begin.
2.  Define what self-care means to you. We all define things differently according to our personal life experiences. Spend time to assess what does self-care mean to you.
3. Create a self-care plan. Once you collect the details of what your self-care looks like, you can establish a self-care plan. 

*In this blog and podcast series, I will be writing about starting your mental, emotional and spiritual self-care plan.*