Day Ten’s Challenge:
Reflect on your journey thus far.

Congratulations! You are one-third of the way through the 30 Day Self-Care Challenge. Are you looking in the mirror every morning and saying “I believe in myself”? Drinking water? You should be up to or close to your daily recommended amount. Breathing? Smiling?

Today your challenge is to take a moment to reflect on this journey. Have you learned anything about yourself? Do you feel differently? More empowered? More confident? Not afraid to dance a little – or a lot? Even if the changes you’ve noticed seem small, congratulate yourself for being a part of this challenge. Recognize the potential for more change in the upcoming days.

If you have missed doing some of the challenges, take the time to go back and look over what each day’s challenge was. See what you can add into your day – but most importantly, don’t give up! Self-care is a process; you are learning to think about yourself differently, and it’s hard to break habits that are 20, 30, 40, 50, or more years established. You can do it.

I’d like to take a moment to share with you my personal reflections of these first 10 days. I started implementing the challenges as I was preparing this series, and I admit that some of them were more challenging than I’d thought they’d be. Looking at myself in the mirror – really looking myself in the eye – was frightening. I’m not sure why, other than it was easier to just avoid eye contact. Perhaps because staring at myself would feel “self-centered”  – but really I think it was because I didn’t feel that I mattered enough to myself. But I started doing it, and each day it got easier. Each day, the smile got a little bigger and brighter. I felt more empowered (which was a darn good thing, because I was putting together this entire challenge and needed to be empowered!)

The drinking water thing has always been an issue with me. But I’ve really stepped up my game. I keep a gallon jug of water by my desk in my office. I refill my water glass throughout the day. I drink water first thing in the morning, and I try to drink some before bed – most nights I do. I order water with lemon when I dine out. I always have a 20 oz. bottle of water in the car or my backpack. I feel better for drinking water regularly throughout the day.

Breathing techniques are something that I’ve used since I was a teenager and took singing lessons. Those are techniques that I taught my children when they were young and would get upset and do that whole *gulp* *sob* *gulp* *sob* thing. Special breathing has gotten me through two labors with no drugs, a painful fall down icy stairs this past winter, and numerous other painful events (physical and mental). If you didn’t get a chance to download the page of breathing techniques [PDF], including the one I walk you through in day #4, then be sure to do that.

Smiling at strangers (and non-strangers) is also something that I’ve done for a while, but I really started to pay attention and be meaningful and aware when doing it. I now smile at the grocery clerk while looking her in the eye (see that mirror thing is helping beyond looking myself in the eye!), and tell her to “make it a great day” and mean it. Not that I didn’t mean it before, just that now I am being purposeful about it and not just saying it and smiling “automatically.”

Walking, for the sake of walking, is not something that I enjoy. Walking to get somewhere (like shopping or at an amusement park) – I’m all over that. So I’m very purposeful about walking when I’m grocery shopping and running errands. I have a completely unproven theory that you burn twice as many calories when you tell yourself “this grocery shopping trip is exercise.” Don’t hold your breath for a confirmation of that theory!

I’d love to hear what you have discovered about yourself and which new habits are beginning to take hold. I’d also be curious to know what you are struggling with. You can share on our social media channels (see links below), but if you’d prefer to be more anonymous, I’ve put together a survey.

Related articles:
Breathe
3 Steps to Learning to Love Yourself
Reflective Practice

Previous Day’s Challenge: Walk   Next Day’s Challenge: Watch a Movie
See all available challenges