Now, don't take offense to the subject line if you like bubble baths and yoga - believe me, I enjoy those things too. I take a bath/shower almost every night before bed as part of my sleep routine. Yoga is a staple in my list of exercise go-tos.

But I feel like it is all too easy to brush off self care and stress management because of the way they are portrayed in the media. It seems glamorous and extravagant, like you have to set aside an hour or more of your day in order to get it done. Self care seems like something that needs to be a big to do and like you have to provide the proof to others that you're taking care of yourself. And that just isn't realistic. 

I'm including an image in this post that shows you 6 different types of self care/stress management categories there are. While it definitely can be a bubble bath with candles, a book, or wine (or all three) - self care and also look like tidying up your work space because the clutter is driving you nuts. Sometimes just washing your hair is self care - I'm looking at all you mamas/teachers out there on day 6 who keep putting it off because they don't want to take that long of a shower. Stress management can look like taking a break from work and working in your yard. Any nice day last week, this weekend, and this week - my dad has been out in the yard washing the lava rock that is the bed to my mom's garden and picking out the weeds. WASHING LAVA ROCK you guys. This is not a normal thing he does either - we put in that lava rock when we moved in and it has never been washed since then. That's been almost 19 years.

So maybe your car being dirty is bothering you, or that creaky door hinge is really getting on your nerves since you're home all day to hear it now. Consider it self care and some stress management to take care of those little things that you find making you anxious, driving you nuts, just bugging you. Self care doesn't have to look glamorous to benefit you. 

With self care - and grit - you take on the world.

Hanna