Treat Yourself

“Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.”

Proverbs 31:10 KJV

“You work hard, don’t you? You deserve it.” I’ve heard that phrase from others and myself because work, school, being a parent, a friend and so much more... to so many others can be non-stop at times. Usually I’d hear it when shopping, dining out, or planning a trip. More importantly, that phrase was being used because…I couldn’t afford it but was spending anyway. A treat, right?

Self-care. We see and hear about it almost everywhere we go. Spa days, retail therapy, brunch with friends, girls’ trips! All great things but the truth is they only go so far. As we start a new month with new goals, let’s elevate our self-care standards with a few questions:

Is it worth it?

Before we spend our time, money and energy on anything, is it moving us closer to or away from our purpose? Will we regret it the next day? Are we sacrificing long-term growth, progress or our plan for short-term satisfaction?

Am I avoiding my truth?

Yeah, yeah, we all think we’re amazing. Sort of. We all also have moments where we feel much less than wonderful. Are we using healthy forms of self-care like conversations with supportive people, meditation and rest to recharge ourselves? Or are we using shopping, food/drinking, getting lost in TV binges, spending time with people that we promised ourselves we were done with, whatever our preferred “medicine” is, to distract us from what’s really going on?

What’s your mission?

All of us, yes, that means you, have a mission! We were created by God with a purpose before we were in our mother’s wombs. Who we are, even in our down time, matters. Remember, our purpose is not for us, it’s to bless those around us. Self-care is a time to care for ourselves in ways that prepare us for our mission and allow us to move fully in our purpose. Treating ourselves and losing sight of our goals and responsibilities are not one and the same.

As we continue to grow and flourish, self-care and self-love become more and more necessary. We’ve all heard the saying, “you can’t pour from an empty cup.” As we move into new levels, let’s take a moment and write down 10 things that bring us joy and peace to practice over the next 30 days. Things that feed our bodies, souls and spirits. Whatever your heart, mind and God lead you to lean into.

Let’s take the month of March to practice treating ourselves, in and on purpose.