Strengthening my Personal Resiliency

Last year, in the midst of someone's medical crisis, I had an "aha!" I began to understand the impact that doing (or not doing) a few simple daily tasks had on my emotional state. When life got crazy, I was not giving priority status my own care. And I could really tell.

I began to change this by paying attention to how I started the day. I credit Flylady.net with my understanding of the "Great Start". By defining a handful of morning activities that had the most impact on my day, I would then be able to focus on developing these habits. These would be things that I should be able to do, almost always, no matter what was going on in my life. This "Great Start" list formed a pillar of my self care project. I ended up with four "pillars" in my plan:
*Great Start
*Physical Wellness
*Order
*Spirit Care

With these pillars identified, I next listed a handful of daily tasks that fell under each category. The goal was to keep it simple. I would only list an item if it was realistic to maintain during the chaotic times of my caregiving life. Also, the pay off for doing (or not doing) it must be significant. I wasn't looking for busy work. I view my list of habits under each pillar to be somewhat dynamic. I can add or even delete items that don't prove their value quickly.

For the most part this is as far as I'd gone with it. In the months since I put it on paper I've been inconsistent with implementing my plan. I hope to do better this year. Through this blog maybe I'll find that there are other caregivers out there that will join me in my journey to self-care. My goal is to care for myself with the same commitment and tenacity that I care for my husband and parents. I believe that I can do that and you can too!