Self-Care: Cherish the Little Things

So, how can you make time? Self care doesn’t need to be complex, or involve a costly full day at a spa…KEEP IT SIMPLE! Find joy in the little things, embrace your weirdo quirks, seek opportunities for mindfulness through even the most seemingly mundane tasks. Here is something that I do for my self care – shovelling. Sound odd? Let me break it down for you…for years now I have used shovelling as an opportunity to benefit my overall wellness in many ways. I CHOOSE to use this experience as an INTENTIONAL opportunity for my self care.

1) Physical Activity: For obvious reasons, this helps me get in a great workout, while doing something that needs to be done, even though we have a snowblower, (this is also why I choose to use a push mower to mow a big section of our yard in the summer, even though we have a riding mower as well).

2) Fresh air and sunshine! Enough said.

3) Mindfulness: This is, “the psychological process of purposely bringing one’s attention to experiences occurring in the present moment without judgement.” With each section of snow that I clear, I envision clearing my mind of stress, anger, hurt, and seek clarity, positivity, and acceptance. I use this time to think through things and plan how I will move forward, whether it be a personal situation, or a complex case at work, or parenting solutions.

I also celebrate that I still have the ability to use my body to complete this task, as there are many who cannot. It would be easy to complain about having to shovel and loathe every moment – yes, living in Manitoba I must sound ridiculous, but just think about it…you are in control of how you approach situations and how you feel about them, so which path are you going to take??? I’ve cleared a nice path on my driveway here…is it easier to walk where I’ve shovelled with such intention and mindfulness, or struggling to walk through the deep snow with frustration and negativity? Choose your path. Keep it simple. I’m not telling you that you need to go outside and shovel. You need to find what works for you, and be mindful. Also, don’t worry I didn’t shovel the WHOLE driveway but was out there for over an hour, I’ll leave the rest to my handsome guy and his snowblower haha!