I have always been a perfectionist. I over analyze, and rework every decision, and every thought. until I'm satisfied. I tend to overthink and be so hard on myself. I'm not knocking this way of life, but I will admit. It can get exhausting.

One day, during a conversation with my Aunt she said "You are so hard on yourself. Why don't you take a moment to be kind to yourself." That stopped me dead in my tracks. Be kind?? And then I realized, I wasn't always so kind to myself. I was steam rolling through the days and the weeks then the months and never taking a moment to give my mind or my body a little TLC. 

What does it mean to be "be kind"? To me, being kind to myself is taking a pause. Surveying my mind and body and saying "OK girl, what do you need?" Then treating myself to that very thing. Now, I'm not saying "A shopping spree makes you happy so you should go do it!"  I'm saying what are small little tasks that bring you joy and don't require too much effort, time, or $$.

Once you start doing this often you will be able to list off ways to be kind to yourself and you'll know how to give yourself a little self love. In the meantime, I'm going to list all the things that give me a pick me up. For me, anything from this list works, every time!

1. I pray or read a scripture from the Bible. Sometimes I need to remind myself that I need to let go and let God.

2. I go get a spa pedicure. The kind where they rub your feet for 20 minutes. Pure heaven! My fave pedicure place is The Nails in Englewood.

3. I make myself a hot cup of a Yogi Stress Relief Tea and put on Muah's Overnight Recovery face mask for 20 minutes. The tea and the lavender scent from the mask helps calm me and my skin gets a dose of hydration. Win, win.

4. I do 20 minutes of spin on my Peloton. I always always feel a rush of joy after 20 min of cardio. Don't have a spin bike? Go for a walk! Sometimes a quick walk with my dogs helps recenter me.

5. I'll turn on my essential oil diffuser to make my home smell like my favorite scent. I love notes of bergamot and cedar wood.

6. Bring in a luxe body scrub into the shower and scrub down your body. I love my Lychee Tea Sugar Scrub from Handmade Suds by Nic. It will feel so good in the moment and the oils will leave your skin feeling delectable.

7. Bake your favorite treat. I love to bake my GF Chocolate Chip Cookies when I need a pick me up. Baking calms my soul and the reward of the delicious cookies afterwards is instant happiness.

8. Put on your favorite cozy clothes. Sometimes you just need to lounge in fabric that feels good against your skin. Currently, I love wearing my dark pink sweat set from the Luxe XII collection.

9. Pick one spot in the house that's causing you stress and attack it. Is it a cluttered drawer? Maybe your spice cabinet is a disaster? Take an hour and toss what you don't need and organize what you have. You will feel such a weight lift off your shoulders because you will no longer feel the pang of stress when you see it and you'll feel proud because you finally did it. Small wins people.

10. Pour yourself your favorite glass of wine, create or order a charcuterie board from Plated by D, and put your phone down. Unplug, unwind, and enjoy your company. Scott and I do this together at least once a week!

I hope this list inspires you to create your own list of things that makes you feel good! Last year was a crazy one. Let's start 2021 off right! And in order to be the best version of yourself, you have to feel good. So start today! How do you plan on being kind to yourself?