Showing Up For Your Life

There comes a point in our lives regardless of our occupation, age or gender where we have to ask ourselves if we are doing the best we can to be the star of our own life. We must question if we are devoting enough to time to our health care and personal hygiene. Are we hiding behind a wardrobe that dims our light, are we dragging our feet or gliding? It is not a question of being glamorous, it is a question of presence, are we showing up for our lives or taking a back-up role?

There was a point in my own life where I had to ask myself these same questions. I spoke to a man who told me his own story of having gone from lead back-up to absolute all-star, his story made me reflect for a few days because I truly believed I was showing up enough in my life. That was the moment I knew, I heard the words “showing up ENOUGH” in my head and I knew I had been lying to myself about how present I really was.

Sure, I was completing my daily tasks, occasionally meeting some of my goals but I was not glowing; somewhere along the line I lost my shine. I dressed ok, put some makeup on my face, followed some kind of skin care regimen but I wasn’t even paying attention when I did this things. My self-routine became robotic and stale and the cost of that was my shine. In unintentionally diming my own light I became less and less present in my life as a whole.

The goal is not to look flawless or meet societal standards of health and beauty. The goal is to look at yourself every morning and every night and smile without trying. It is about devoting at least a tenth of your day (2.4 hours) to yourself. It does not have to be all at once, it is actually better to do it in parts.

Set time aside to have some you time, put the phone down, ignore the emails and the news.  Take time to meditate, go for a soothing walk outside or exercise at home or the gym. Wake up just a few minutes earlier to make sure you can enjoy your breakfast, gather yourself without rushing and make sure you look and feel fabulous for your day. At night, read a book that makes you happy, take care of your skin, enjoy your shower time and just love yourself when you are in that space.

The more you devote time to yourself the more you will notice that you like it. You will notice yourself feeling less stressed throughout the day and that is because you have taken the time to make yourself more present. You have devoted time that is just for you and given yourself time to prepare yourself well for all the wonderful opportunities your day has to offer.