Selfcare is a Journey

(grabs you by the shoulders) you have to make room for new experiences in your life. you have to go through the unpleasant work of leaving your comfort zone, even if just for a few minutes at a time. because if you don't, your brain will trick you into stagnation. you will start to believe that the world can barely fit you in it. but that's not true. it's the opposite way around. you can fit the whole word inside of you. your task is only this: to welcome it with open arms

As someone who grew up with "I'm not going to praise you for doing what's expected of you; that's not being good, that's doing the bare minimum" I want to encourage you to celebrate every little thing you can. Everything that takes energy and effort should be appreciated and you're allowed to be happy about trying.

If it's hard to do then it's not nothing. Be proud of yourself

i know we're all sick of self-care being a marketing tactic now, but i don't think a lot of us have any other concept of self-care beyond what companies have tried to sell us, so i thought i'd share my favorite self-care hand out

brought to you by how mad i just got at a Target ad

OP this is EXCELLENT

Now THAT’S a self care resource! If you’ve gotten distracted by capitalism’s appropriation of “self-care” and watering the meaning down to nothing this is a super helpful guide to cut through the bullshit.

i cannot hate myself into a version of me i will love.

i cannot punish myself in any way that will unmake the past.

So it didn’t work out, and that’s okay. Maybe you gave it your all; maybe you feel you could’ve done more. Regardless, what’s done is done. Don't backtrack. Forgive yourself, focus on your healing, feel your emotions without distraction, and be gentle with yourself through this. You’re going to be just fine, love.

“Do it scared” but please realize that, if you Do It Scared too much and don’t let yourself rest + relax + have fun in between, you will fuck yourself up. If you “do it scared” all day every day, you will burn out badly and quickly. Sometimes this is temporarily necessary but please keep this in mind.

When you “do it scared” eventually you’re supposed to be less scared, eventually doing it scared is supposed to teach you the worst won’t happen, or it won’t be as bad as you think it is, or that the best outcomes are worth it, or you’re more capable than you thought you were. If you do it scared over and over and you’re still scared and you’re always scared, maybe it was never about pushing yourself, maybe something bigger is going on and what you really need is to be kind to yourself while you figure out what that is.

Snaily :)

i deserve to let things go, to not allow them to haunt me anymore since i am constantly changing and growing

reaching out unprompted can mean the world to someone

don't give up

makes me just think of this poem by Caitlin Seida

Speak to yourself softly. Even when you are burning and all you want to do is tear it all down, you deserve kindness.

Diet companies won’t tell you this but starving yourself is a lot worse for your health than overeating

What we're not gonna do is endlessly beat ourselves up over past mistakes. They've had their time. Now, treasure the wisdom they've gifted you. Forgive yourself often. Embrace the lessons and give yourself permission to evolve.

so you dated the wrong person and learned a hard lesson. you chose the wrong major and had to start over again. you cherished a friend who backstabbed you. it sucks, but it’s also going to work out. that’s life; you learn, hurt, love, cry, laugh, and keep going. you experience setbacks and you grow and it’s all okay.