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Major, life altering realization. Self-discipline IS self care.

I don’t mean the kind of discipline that involves berating yourself, or depriving yourself, or exerting a level of militaristic control over your life.

I mean the choices you make when you’re faced with something that will make you feel good NOW (and most likely like shit later), and the choices that set you up to feel good… continuously. Instant gratification versus an actual lifestyle and mindset shift.

See, I thought for a long time that “taking care of myself” meant getting my nails done once a week, or eating that extra cookie (or six), or binge-watching Netflix. I don’t judge us, I know you’ve been there too.

But those things never worked for me in the long run, just started a spiral of instant gratification masquerading as, “feeling better.”

What truly makes me feel better are the things that make me FEEL better, things that drive me forward instead of holding me stagnant. 


Meditating. 
Moving. 
Sunshine and water and trees. 
Feeding people. 
Taking the supplements that I KNOW make a difference in my day-to-day functionality. 
Tidying the spaces I spend the most time in. (Because your outside space is a manifestation of your inner state. That one has taken me a long time to learn.) 
Eating enough whole, real food. 
Laughing. 
Drinking water and tea (and for me, sadly, no more coffee. )

If your self-care only makes you feel worse because it involves money you shouldn’t spend, or time that feels wasted, or feeling bloated and gross from eating too much crap than it really isn’t caring for yourself.

Caring for yourself is a CHOICE. It’s ACTIVE, not passive. It involves moving forward, even incrementally.

When you start the shift from instant gratification to forward motion, you gain momentum. Each day is a little easier because you can see the difference over time. Every day doesn’t HAVE to be perfect, and requires grace for when you do slip in your human-ness and eat that pint of Tonight Dough in front of the TV.                                          


If you are disciplined in making the choices that show yourself care, the instant gratification quick-fix mentality loses it’s appeal.


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