Setting boundaries is good self-care.
It's a bit of a buzzword, isn't it? Boundaries.
I remember hearing it from my psych. She said to me, 'Elle, you have no boundaries, this is why you feel the way you do, let's fix that.'
Even though I'd been an athlete for so long, boundaries had never really played a huge part in the lead-up and recovery from training or any major event, or so I thought, if I think back now, I probably was doing my fair share of it, but it all related back to swimming, so it was never a holistic approach.
During the 13 years, I was on the Australian team, I had a cold, my nose was always runny, I had dry skin and aches all over from pushing my body to the limit. But now, I've learnt to be a LOT more balanced in my 'pushing' and have daily self-care practices in place so that I can at the very least get up the next day. Self-care and boundaries for me, go hand in hand. I wanted to share some self-care tips with you.
Learn to say 'no'. Yep, I'm starting off with a big f..ing NO. You know why? You are worth more than doing the things you hate. You are worth more than hanging out with people that are toxic and you are worth more than watching dumb shows like, a current affair or Married at First Sight, seriously people, do you ever feel good after watching shows like that? Everything has an energetic blueprint, these shows will literally seep their energy into yours, do you really want that for yourself?
Don't count your calories. Yep, I said it. Do.not.weigh.your.food.you.are.not.a.race.horse. our bodies change all the time. Don't hold yourself to something that was yesterday or could be in your the future. Enjoy you now. Stop trying to be something else or have a different number on the scales, you're doing amazing. I used to be 53 kgs and I was never happy, I was sick all the time and my mindset was terrible. Now, I know I'm carrying some weight, but my insides, mind, and body are getting healthier every day, and the most important thing is; I love who I am, in the now, all of it. No amount of food weighing will make up for any lack of self-acceptance.
You don't have to have 10,000 Instagram followers to be successful in business. Stop trying to compete with robots. Create connections. Create content. Create a life that you don't need a holiday from. This includes having really strong boundaries for yourself in business - my advice, always follow joy, in all that you do.
Self-care looks different to everyone. There is no right or wrong way to self-care. I was once told that resting my body and watching a movie wasn't the 'right' way to do self-care. I'm sorry, who said it wasn't? The self-care police? P.S If you're still hanging with the self-care police, please refer to point 1).
Take time out from all the noise at least once a day. Meditation comes in different forms, so you do, you. Whatever feels best for you to switch off and breathe, is the best way for you to meditate. This may evolve over time, but if it doesn't then that's also ok. Some days, I meditate to silence, some days, I draw, some nights, I light candles and pump ancient drumming music and dance, some days I swim, some days, I chant. Whatever makes you feel good is whats best.
Now, go and do what makes you feel good. x
