It’s ok to nurture yourself more than you nurture others

The other day I was talking with a client about setting up a motivating morning routine and what came out of it was an amazing discussion of how we do and don’t nurture ourselves.
 
A lot of times when we think about nurturing, we think about nurturing others – our kids or other people we love. And we oftentimes don’t turn that nurturing back towards ourselves. We tell ourselves stories about how we don’t have time or that now that we’re adults we don’t need it. But if we can nurture others, we absolutely can nurture ourselves. Just because we’re adults doesn’t mean we don’t need nurturing, too.
 
Nurturing is a subset of self-care. It involves taking care of and nourishing our fundamental needs.
 
Here are some ways I try nurture myself:
-       Plan out and prepare weekly menus, so I know I’ll have nourishing food easily available.
-       Practice self-compassion.  I talk to myself like I would talk to a friend.
-       Go to therapy, get coached, or attend a sharing circle (@NUSHU) regularly to process what’s going on in my life and feel seen, heard, and held.
-       Get decent sleep on a regular basis – eek – this one is a toughy!
 
I admit I’m not perfect at this – nor will I ever be. Nurturing is a practice.  The most important thing is being aware of and celebrating when you do nurture yourself as well as be aware on when you’re not and slowly try to find ways to show yourself in those moments that nurturing is possible. As with most things it’s an ongoing process.
 
You deserve to be nurtured and to nurture yourself. What can you do to build our self-nurturing muscle? What do you do for others that you can also do for yourself? 💛
 
Nurture yourself with a coaching session. I have sessions available and offer compassionate guidance to help you feel nurtured and empowered.