The term “self-care detox” sounds counterintuitive doesn’t it? The idea came to me when I was doing research on some ideas for a cleanse I’m planning for in the near future. I may have mentioned this before but as much as I love writing these blog post, it can be a challenge to come up with new and creative ideas to ensure that I keep my readers engaged and interested as often as possible. I also take risk, and by that I mean this particular blog post (as well as my other blog post, social media content, newsletters, and anything else related to my blog) is usually written the day before it’s due to release. I call it a risk because what if I can’t come up with anything? And while I’m not obligated nor required (so to speak) to post anything religiously, I made a promise to myself and I have to take responsibility for this platform I created. And the responsibility looks like showing up when I say I’m going to show up. It doesn’t feel restrictive but it does require a great deal of discipline sometimes.
Self-care detox, what does that mean? I’m defining it as the process we use to get rid of negativity and to welcome positivity in our lives to benefit our emotional well being. Which is essentially what my self-care blog is all about. After giving it some thought, I think self-care is a detox, although it’s not usually used together in a sentence (at least not to my knowledge). If self-care is a detox, then using the two words together is a double negative, it’s like saying “there’s not nothing to worry about” or “we never won’t let you fall.” But I like the sound and the idea behind doing a self-care detox so I went with it. The title may also be a bit mis-leading because I think it implies that I will have seven ideas for physical and emotional self-care. I’m sure my selfcareatforty veterans know that the title is in reference to seven total and not seven each. For my newbies, I apologize if you thought differently.
In staying consistent with my self-care focus for the month of March (Words of Affirmations). I decided to loop this month’s focus in by encouraging everyone to start each day this week with an affirmation. The power of affirmations; if repeated, written, and you believe what you’re saying is true, then the meaning of the affirmation will manifest. If the affirmations I provided doesn’t work for you, feel free to come up with your own.
Sunday-DETOX YOUR SOUL Affirmation for your soul: I am in alignment with my soul purpose. Start with meditation. I’ve talked about meditation lot on my blog because I really believe in the power of meditation. I use to mediate daily but over the years it’s become very sporadic. When I was consistent with my practice, I noticed in change in how I dealt with life’s challenges, I also noticed that I was more proactive and not reactive. Meditation is in fact defined as practice where an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state. For almost a week now I’ve been meditating first thing in the morning, no phone, no social media, just 20mins of meditation to start my day on a high note. If you’re new to meditation, 20mins will probably be a lot but there are plenty of apps and sites that have short guided mediation practices that you can start with such as Headspace, The Mindful Minute, or you can check out Black Zen for additional mindfulness resources.
Monday-DETOX YOUR BODY (INTERNAL) Affirmation for your Body: I choose to change my eating habits and I successfully do so. If you already have a healthy diet, perhaps you can do intermittent fasting today or try a detox tea. But if your diet is not up to par, I want to challenge you to eat healthy all day today. For some that may mean no carbs, or vegetables with all your meals. Doing an internal detox; which is essentially detoxing your body, is “designed to eliminate toxins from your body. There are many claims about various detox regimens, which could be in the form of a fast, diet, drink or powder.” You can read more about it here. Let me be clear, I’m not recommending anything drastic, if you have any health conditions, are taking medications, or have any dietary restrictions; I recommend consulting your doctor first.
Tuesday-DETOX YOUR MIND Affirmation for your mind: My mind is clear, strong, and focused. One of the best methods for building a strong mind is by reading. I love reading but just like meditation, I haven’t been as consistent as I would like to be. Recently I’ve been reading at least a chapter of my book each night and every morning I find a motivational article to read to help me start my day. I would recommend starting with a self help book, I think they’re the best tool for a mind detox. Self help books are usually helpful with guiding us in the direction for change that we need to make in our lives. I would also recommend looking into therapy if you’re not already seeing a therapist. Here’s a resource that may help.
Wednesday-DETOX YOUR WORDS Affirmation for your words: I’m hearing, thinking, and speaking positive thoughts. Do this all day, but don’t just speak positively to yourself but with others. If you’re always hard on yourself or talking down to yourself and to others, give it a rest today and be gentle. If you find yourself saying something negative, immediately follow it up with something positive. I know for most of us, negative talk is embedded in our vocabulary, we’ve done it so much that when it happens we don’t realize it because it’s become second nature for us. But you attract what you say and what you believe. Words themselves are affirmations so if you say it enough, you will start to believe it and attract it.
Thursday-DETOX YOUR SPACE Affirmation for your space: When you let go, you create space for something better. I’m referring to your physical space (in your home) but this can be any space you’d like it to be. I always say that when you create space, you make room from better opportunities in your life, that’s why I chose the affirmation. Detoxing your space can mean de-cluttering, tossing out items that no longer serve a purpose or you can re-arrange a room. This may all sound like a chore but trust me, the end result will be worth it. Keep the focus on how you will feel after you’ve detox and not on the task itself. Doing so will help keep you encouraged and motivated.
Friday-DETOX YOUR BODY(EXTERNAL) Affirmation for your body: I am stronger than any excuse. This challenge will never get old because it’s important and healthy for us to stay active. So move! I’m trying to stay active at least three days out of the week, and it helps that we are heading into spring because I can go to the park to do my workouts. Like most people, I fall off and on the workout bandwagon often and I want to change that. I know I lack the motivation, but I also want to find a workout regimen that I won’t dread when it’s time to workout. If this sounds like you, you should do a self check-in. What time of day are you less busy? When do you feel most active? Do you like HIIT workouts? Maybe something low impact? Figure out what you like, when you can do it, and just start. Also, “exercise can kickstart the natural detox process as it flushes out the lungs, and cleanses the skin as we work up a sweat. It also increases blood flow promoting better circulation to pump white blood cells through the body and help organs cleanse themselves effectively.” Read more about this here.
Saturday-DETOX YOUR LIFESTYLE Affirmation for your lifestyle: I have the power to create change. Are you living the life you want to live? The life you’ve pictured for yourself? Think about this. If not, what’s keeping you from creating this life for yourself. That’s the purpose of this challenge, creating a lifestyle that you want. As we get older this may become a bit more challenging because our responsibilities may get in the way, but there’s always something that we still have control over. Maybe you can adopt a healthier morning routine, maybe you can enroll in school part time if you want to get a degree to earn more money to build a better life for yourself and your family. My advice is to look at the things you can change and start taking the steps towards this change. Let go (detox) of what’s not working and start creating opportunities.
Unless you’ve already incorporated all of these in your routine, these changes won’t occur over night. Save this as a favorite and routinely do a check in to make sure that you haven’t fallen off the bandwagon and if you do, just get right back on, it’s that simple. You all know this is my favorite segment, the Self-Care on the Go paragraph. They are essentially bite size versions of my self-care challenges. It’s open to anyone but its’ specifically created for moms and other working women who may not have time to participate in all (or any) of the challenges above, because of their mommy duties or busy work schedule. You can access the infographic HERE. I encourage you to print, save, or take a screen shot. Whatever is conducive to your current schedule. Please feel free to share it with someone who you think might need it.
By the way, if you’re interested, my Newsletter and Self-Care Accountability Worksheet is now available. The worksheet will act as a supplement to my daily self-care challenges. The purpose is to help you stay on track with your daily self-care routines. If you’re interested in receiving these items weekly, email me at tam33ks@yahoo.com. The self-care worksheet is FREE, but will only be available to my Newsletter subscribers. I will NOT spam you, I will only email once per week.
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