Why Angie loves self care, and you can too!

Happy Morning!

It’s my favorite day of every other week. Guest blogger day!! And today we’re meeting Angie from Pace with Grace. Angie is super sweet and I love reading her blog in the mornings 🙂 I felt like I really connected with her when I read her story on recovery. She’s open, honest, and real, which is always so refreshing to see in a blogger. From then on forward we just became blog friends and she’s great. I promise you’ll love reading her (especially all you runners out there!!) She’s one of those crazies who wakes up early to run mile after mile after mile 😉 You’re all crazy.

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Hi everyone!  My name is Angie and I blog over at Pace with Grace where I discuss all things running, recovery, style and living (and anything else I care to write about!).  I am excited to be a guest blogger today here on Colors of Life and talk about why I love self care and you can too!

Self care is something that can often be overlooked in the midst of busy schedules and the demands of life.  I know this is certainly true for me at times.  But over the past couple years, I have gotten intentional with incorporating self care into my regular routine and have noticed some positive changes.  Some of these positive changes include decreased stress, improved mood, feeling more balanced and motivated to work hard knowing I have something to look forward to.  Don’t get me wrong, I still have stress and times where my mood isn’t the best (that’s just life) but I bounce back faster and cope with struggles more effectively.  I believe that mindset is everything and self care works wonders in helping to feel recharged and in a more positive state of mind.

What I love about self care is that it can look differently for everyone!  We all have our own unique responsibilities, schedules, and lives so creating a plan for self care that works for you is so important. There are nights where I don’t get home from work until 8:45/9PM and after a long day, the best thing I can do for myself is take some time to unwind.  This usually looks like me getting into some comfy pajamas, taking off my makeup and throwing up my hair, followed by couch time with my pup Milo and husband.  

Another reason I love self care is because it doesn’t have to take a lot of time!  Even 15-20 minutes can work wonders, you just have make it a priority.  Some things I love to do when I don’t have a ton of time are: paint my nails, page through a magazine, sit and drink a cup of coffee (or tea if you like) and doing a quick face mask while relaxing on the couch.  These activities take very little time and not only are relaxing, but help us to unwind and manage stress effectively.  If we spend the majority of our time feeling stressed this most definitely shows up in our mood, our relationships, and our mindset.

Self care also helps me be the best version of myself.  What I mean by that is when I am taking care of myself, I am a better wife, step-mom, therapist, sister, daughter, friend (the list continues).  So not only is it important we do it for ourselves, it’s important we do it for others we care about.     

There are SO many possibilities when it comes to self care!  Here are some ideas:

Running, cooking, reading a good book, treating yourself to a drink at your favorite coffee shop, doing yoga, trying a new workout class, reconnecting with a friend, make a lunch/dinner date, see/watch a movie with some of your favorite snacks, get a manicure or pedicure, browse Pinterest for a fun activity/craft, bake your favorite dessert, take a walk, spend time with pets, purchase a new candle and enjoy it while relaxing, download some new songs, take a bubble bath, go on a date, try a new restaurant or activity, get a massage or spa treatment, call a friend to reconnect.

If we don’t invest time in ourselves, the rest of our world is affected!  Take some time to think about how you can take care of yourself and make a plan of when you will do it.  

Thanks for reading and I would love to hear from you:

How are you with incorporating self care?

How could you improve with incorporating self care in your regular routine?

What are your favorite self care activities?

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I ask all my guest bloggers to come up with something they love to blog about and i’m so glad Angie chose this topic…I never would have even thought about this. It really is so overlooked by us, especially as women and she knocked it out of the park. I think i’m going to write down all of those ideas and draw one out of a hat every day or every week. Thanks again, Angie!!

If you’ve missed any other part of this series about what we love, check them out:

Why I love running, and you can too!
Why I love yoga, and you can too!
Why Kylie loves spinning, and you can too!
Why Jamie loves celebrating, and you can too!
Why Christina loves hosting, and you can too!
Why Julie loves hiking, and you can too!
Why Randi loves Pittsburgh, and you can too!

Have a great day!