Have you ever felt overwhelmed, to the point that you just don’t know what to do next? You don’t know where to turn, where to go to help yourself, to take care of you? Years ago this was me. After suffering years of sexual abuse, I was this invisible person that had no sense of self worth, I believed that my voice didn’t matter, that I didn’t matter and my confidence was non existent.
I was in college an all time low in my life when I found exercise as a means of, for lack of a better word, escape initially. For that one hour in a fitness class I felt that I mattered, that I was important, that somebody cared about me. At the end of class there was always that vivacious instructor that would say have a great day, and made me feel good about who I was as a person. I went back day after day not for the exercise as much as it was for that feeling of acceptance, for someone believing that I was a somebody, a person!
I wasn’t invisible.
As women we wear so many different hats. We’re Moms, we’re wives, we’re co- workers, we’re friends, we’re sisters, we’re daughters, and let’s face it, life can and does get overwhelming. I mean just think of a typical day. Where do YOU fit time in for yourself?
When the kids were young I would get up, make lunches, make sure they were set for school, get them on the bus, run and work all day, come home and still have a whole day of work ahead. Dinners still need to be made, the house still had to be cleaned, oh and let’s not forget to mention laundry that still needed to be done. It seemed as soon as I empty the laundry basket, it was full again. Homework, the kids needed to be bathed, bedtime, meltdowns… Not to mention that you also still wanted to have a relationship with your husband or spouse. Does any of this sound familiar?
Where do you find the time in the middle of all this? It’s really easy to get lost as a person. I just want to be here to tell you that YOU DO MATTER, and it IS important to find that time for YOU. I know you are probably saying “Jill just where the heck do you think I am going to find time for me and still get some sleep?” Let me help you with that.
It can be done in little snippets of time. I ‘m not talking necessarily about the time to exercise to become this super jock. I am talking about finding the time to just find YOU. For me that did mean exercise. It empowered me, it gave me the strength and courage to believe in myself. Maybe for you it’s having the time to take a bubble bath without anybody knowcking on that door, or opening the door or shouting Ma! Ma! Ma!.
Sometimes I wish I could just change my name for like 10 minutes.. LOL can you relate? Maybe it’s taking that five or ten minutes in the afternoon to just sit down, close your eyes, and day dream. As kids we use to do that all the time. Who says just because we are grown up, we can’t still have dreams and goals of our own?Maybe it’s reading a book, knitting, or just vegging…… Whatever it is, it’s important that you find the time for YOU.
It might mean getting up a little earlier in the morning. I found that when the kids were little, I just needed that quiet time early on to get my mindset right for the day. whenever it is for you, you just need to find that spot. Because without you being the best you, without you believing that you matter, it affects everything else in our lives.
We’re not able to be the best Moms we can be, we’re not the best co-workers, we’re not the best friends or spouses.
It’s an everyday battle.
That battle does not change. There’s still that voice inside my head that tells me that I’m not good enough, that I’m not worthy enough. Finding time for ourselves is not something you can do, and then stop doing. It’s something that we need to do all the time for our families, for ourselves, BECAUSE WE MATTER.
The voices inside my head are quieted when I spend time with me working on me.
Jill Ciment | LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE 