Grounding YourSELF....

 As you may have read  in my last post, I am now following a Blog Post schedule, Mondays I will be posting more homeschool, parenting style posts and Thursdays I will be posting about more Lifestyle and Business geared subjects, so please Subscribe to our Newsletter and bookmark our page; so you will know everytime I post! And don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest and Subscribe to our YouTube page! 

 My Monday posts are certainly geared more toward parenting and homeschooling, but we can't forget how important it is to basically "parent" ourselves, and you may be thinking that the eighteen years of being parented was enough for you, but how much easier could adulting be if we held ourselves more accountable, and that isn't always as un-fun as it sounds.

-Grounding YourSELF-

 The idea behind the title Grounding YourSELF is actually multi layered. There is the emphasis on grounding, as in holding yourself accountable with the inevitable negatives that come from a lack of consistency and accountability in our daily lives...  Basically, if we don't handle a situation correctly, there will be natural consequences, for instance, if I don't clean out my fridge, it will eventually smell of rotting food and be less sanitary. An obnoxious task that we don't want to do and that will have a negative impact on our lives if we don't manage our tasks in a timely manner, so essentially we are being punished like we would intentionally punish our children to teach them to be more responsible. There is another meaning behind that title, that is also a direct result of holding ourselves accountable, but has a more pleasant outcome and that is what keeping yourself grounded; in the consistency of those routines brings; a sense of peace and accomplishment. 

 I find as an adult, we all have to struggle with the balance of things we don't want to do to maintain the things that actually bring us a sense of joy at the end of the day. We all get so focused on our kids and on work, that we tend to lose ourselves in that, I know that every parent can relate to that. I spent about ten years lost in everything, but myself; and in turn, my whole family suffered in one way or another. I put so much emphasis on my kids and husband that I completely forgot about me, and how can I possibly give my family the best of myself, if I don't know that person any more. Now that I have started down this road, I think it would be best to follow it...

-The Right Path-

 I spent ten years at home raising children, which is what I always wanted, and it is easy when you are in the middle of it all; to eventually not see the forest through the trees anymore and that is exactly where I was. I didn't even realize how lost I was until I started finding my way out and seeing the big picture again. While being at home with the kids I stopped doing a lot of things, I stopped giving my own mental and physical health any time, and in turn, my kids were less healthy, because I was their example, and I had become a poor one. I was overweight and eventually wasn't concerned about how I looked..... Don't get me wrong, it bothered me to be overweight, feel crappy and not even want to bother with make-up.... Or jeans. I was unhappy with myself and that spilt all over everything. 

 Ten years is a long time to spend blindfolded, and that is what it feels like I was doing looking back on it now, and the way that I stared to snap out of it was I started to work part time, just a fews hours; a few nights a week and it was like someone just started lifting up this fog that I was in. I started to care more about how I looked and how I felt. It was not easy being on my feet for hours with extra weight and bad eating habits and it also didn't feel so great being surrounded by young healthy girls, with beautiful make-up and manicured nails.... It was a motivator to say the least. It was getting back out into the real world, getting some positive influences in my life and most of all, taking time to focus on me again that really made me; make the changes necessary to be the best me I could be for my family.

 In a matter of months I was losing weight, I become more socially comfortable, and in general; shedded the anxiety that being secluded for years can build up. I hadn't felt that good in years. I can't say it was all peaches and cream from that point on, I still had a lot to work to do mentally, and that required a lifestyles change to really get a handle on and honestly, that is a whole other blog post, but let's just say, it required a complete overhaul of my diet and adding a LOT of physical activity..... and leaving the job that helped me so much to really get a handle on my anxiety and depression. 

-A Better Place-

 I had started this journey of finding myself again about five years ago and now after ten years of being overweight, depressed, anxious, and a very lost soul with no real aspirations in life, and five years of hard work and hard self reflection; I am healthy, physically fit, as well as mentally and physically accountable for myself.

 To do all the things I needed, to give my kids a good role model; that is physically and mentally capable of being all the things they need to help them thrive, and to be the parter that my husband deserves; I had to put myself first. I had to see how important I truly am to my loved ones, I had to respect myself enough to be the best me for my family, and I am bettering myself daily. How many people can genuinely say that they love themselves and their lives. I am so blessed to have finally loved myself enough to be the good mother, wife and Christian that all of my loved ones deserve. Holding myself accountable and trusting God throughout my journey, has given me the ability to feel God's love in every aspect of my life, that is a true blessing and one we can all have if we just choose to love ourselves.

 And what would one of my blog posts be if I didn't include a list to help my readers along their own journey to self appreciation. So here are some things that can help you achieve your best self.

-Plot your Journey-

• Pray!!!! Pray on everything! Ask God questions and ask for guidance.... I think alot of people don't communicate with God as often as they should because it feels one way, you are literally speaking to someone who says nothing back, but that assumption would be wrong. The more I talk to God, the more questions I ask, the more clearly he answers, and he DOES answer. Never underestimate the power of Prayer!

• Value your time- Set goals that will make you feel accomplished at the end of the day, via- completed tasks, read for an hour, create something, plan an activity, engage with others.... Just simply shower and put on an outfit that makes you feel beautiful, anything that gets you doing SOMETHING will do wonders for your overall sense of accomplishment.

• Eat healthy!! This is something we all know already, but we often will ignore what we know is right for what is easy. You will be happier and feel better if you just keep it clean, a simple rule of thumb, avoid anything that requires preservatives. A good balance of lean protein, lots of colorful veggies and more water than you think is reasonable. DAnd it doesn't hurt to look into some supplements and vitamins to fill those nutritional holes (there is a health and nutrition blog post coming up 😉)

• Exercise!!!! That doesn't necessarily mean you have to run a couple miles a day and/or lift your weight in weights..... Though I can't express enough how really digging into physical fitness has helped me, but it just means to get up and move, set some healthy goals to get your heart pumping. Exercise doesn't only helpyou physically, but consistency helps you mentally as well..... there will actually be a chemical change, that WILL make you feel happier in general and not just feel more accomplished, but be more accomplished, plus this and healthy eating will add years to your life 🤷🏼‍♀️ so there is that.

• Find an outlet- Your outlet should be YOUR thing, something that you can nurture and enjoy yourself. I personally have a few, I do pyrography art as an artistic outlet as well as a source of income, I workout rather heavily which burns off stress and calories.... and it may sound odd, but my hair.... I obsess over my hair, I only use the best products, I have curly long hair, so it requires a good amount of maintenance and at the end of the day, I feel accomplished and confident because of the effort that I put into myself.

 So as you can see, the title of this post really does focus on putting yourself first, whether that be with accountability or with nurture, we all deserve the Blessing that valuing ourselves brings, and our families all deserve the best of what we have to offer.

 I would love to hear what you do to help better yourself and any advice that you may have that has helped you grow, in the comment section below.

Thanks for reading

-Mary