Thursday, November 8, 2018

#TakeCareChallenge

As we get closer to the busy-ness of the holiday season and start reflecting on the past year to plan ahead, I wanted to share the #TakeCareChallenge prompts I posted this summer.

Prompt #1: What are 3 things about yourself that you are proud of? Sometimes we don't give ourselves enough credit for the things we've done. Sometimes we forget how awesome we are so the point of this exercise is to remind ourselves of it. And if for some reason you can't come up with 3, ask your family and friends to help you. 

Prompt #2: Brighten someone else's day. Compliment 3 people today.

Prompt #3: Think of what freedom means to you, all the things you have and all the the things you can do and enjoy that you may sometimes take for granted.

Prompt #4: What are 3 things you're grateful for? Gratitude is an important component in self-care. We should train ourselves to seek and appreciate the good.

Prompt #5: Watch (or rewatch) the Mister Rogers' documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor? It is a comforting activity to do during these crazy troubling times sure to inspire everyone to seek and be the kindness in the world.

Prompt #6: Do at least one small act of kindness for someone else. Notice how it affects them. Notice how it affects you. Sometimes you may not get any sort of acknowledgement but that's OK.

Prompt #7: Forgive yourself. Sometimes we're too hard on ourselves for things we did or didn't say or do in a particular moment. We are only human who make mistakes. Forgive ourselves for things we continue to stress about and maybe that will allow us to move forward.

Prompt #8: Thoughts and prayers aren't enough. Take action. If there's a problem issue you're passionate about solving, do some research to find organizations and resources to help you better understand it and see what you can do to help.

Prompt #9: Be serious about Self Care. Schedule the time- set an alarm on your phone, block it out on your Google calendar- for it instead of getting around to it.

Prompt #10: Don't let social media replace actual human interactions. Have a face to face with someone you care about. Even a good old fashioned phone conversation will be better than a typical post, tweet, email or text.

Prompt #11: Walk. Take in the beauty of the outdoors. Soak up the sun.

Prompt #12: Put away your smart phones. Enjoy time with family, friends and yourself. Challenge yourself to unplug from time to time. 

Prompt #13: What's one thing that you're good at that people tend to compliment you on? Go ahead, toot your horn.

Prompt #14: Give credit to those who helped you be good at what you do. Sing them praises!

Prompt #15: I'm a big fan of journaling. I think it's a great way to start and end a day. You don't need anything fancy. Pen and paper will do. Or even typing or texting. Simple prompts to write about. What are three things I'm grateful for today? What are some tasks I have to do today? What is weighing on my mind and what are action steps I can take? What could I have done differently today to have made things even better? What's something I could do that would be awesome?

Prompt #16: Volunteer. You'll be surprised at how good you feel after helping others out!

Prompt #17: Treat yo' self. It doesn't even have to cost anything!

Prompt #18: Remember, we are #StrongerTogether with getting things done in both our small and large endeavors, whether making our lives or the world a better place. Find your team. Check up on them. Get to work.

Prompt #19: The most important thing in order for the #TakeCareChallenge to work is if you actually take the time to do it. Do take time to take care of yourself and to take care of others. Schedule it on your calendar if you have to. Just do it.

Thanks to everyone for following along this month. I hope you found some things helpful!