I cannot forget the time when my mom had a terrible, terrible nose bleed. She was hypertensive and on maintenance medications for it. As she related, that day was particularly different. She felt unusually hot and light-headed upon waking up. Then, a throbbing headache ensued at around noon. She was trying to relax when she leaned in to get a magazine, suddenly, blood rushed out from her nose! Our aunt described it like it was the tap, turned on to full. She was rushed to the hospital and had to stay there for a week. According to the doctor, it was a near-stroke experience, caused by her high blood pressure.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a relatively common term. You might have heard it from your mom, uncle, or you might have experienced it first-hand.
Barely one month into the 4th decade of my life, I wish to continue with my musings about what’s special about turning 40. I would like to start with a quote: Youth is a gift of nature, but age is a work of art. –Stanislaw Jerzy Lec. If you haven’t yet, please take time to read the Part 1.
In this lifetime, how many times have you loved and cared for something or someone? And how much of yourself did you commit to it or him or her? More often than not, we give more of ourselves to others than to our very selves. We tend to the well-being of our loved ones and our priced possessions while neglecting our needs. Fortunately, in this day and age, there are people who remind us to take a break and listen to our core.
Marissa Peer, a world renowned speaker and a best-selling author, defines self-care as “an act of listening to your body and giving it love and gratitude…” She adds that “self-care is important to maintain a healthy relationship with yourself as it produces positive feeling and boosts your confidence and self-esteem.” Self-love may sound selfish but, truly, it is not. Attuning to the needs of your mind, body and soul does not make you selfish. It actually makes you more capable of giving because, as they say, you cannot give what you do not have.
Want to start loving yourself but don’t know how? This 5-day challenge is a great way for you to take the first step forward to the wonderful journey of loving yourself. Follow the instructions, commit to them day by day and start reaping the rewards!
Day 1. Set up healthy routines
To start, carefully think about your daily grind. Are you happy with it? Is it always hectic? Or has it become mundane? Whatever your routine looks like, you can always make it better. We have roles and responsibilities that we are required to do every single day, but again, this must be for others and not yourself! Starting today, squeeze in a time dedicated just for you. A good set of consistent morning routine, which can be brief but packed, might just be the answer. Melissa Ambrosini suggests ways on how to create Magical Morning Routines here.
In order to care for the wholeness of you, you might want to include in your routine, exercise for the body, meditation or prayer for your soul, and the likes of reading or writing for your mind.
Day 2. Create a positive space
Nobody can deny the effect that our environment have on us. We relax when we are surrounded by nature, we relish dining at a nice restaurant ambience and we cannot seem to work in a cluttered room. Today, give yourself the gift of a positive space. The simplest way to do this is to declutter. You can also assign areas in your home where you can do work or me-time to give you the feel that you are looking for.
In this video, Feng Shui master, Marie Diamond tells us how important arranging our surrounding is to our well-being. She also gives us Feng Shui tips on how to improve our living space.
Day 3. Set your goals
Wikipedia defines goals as an idea of the future or desired result that a person or group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. Goals give us direction in our lives. It gives us the reason to wake up each and every morning. Setting your goals and committing to get them will give you the drive and motivation to live and to work.
To help you set your goals meaningfully, Vishen Lakhiani, in his book, The Code of the Extraordinary Mind, differentiates means goals versus end goals. He tells us to aim for end goals since they are the beautiful, exciting rewards of being human on planet earth. He also wants us to categorize our goals into 3 buckets, namely experiences, growth and contribution. Read the excerpt of this great book here.
Day 4. Affirm yourself
After setting your goals yesterday, it’s time to affirm them and yourself succeeding in reaching them. In his website, The Biology of Belief author, Bruce H. Lipton, PhD asks us this question, “What would your life be like if you learned that you are more powerful than you have ever been taught?” Ignites your heart, right?
Myia Cleggett, the founder of Mind Motivation Coaching, shares the 4 keys to empower your mind for success. These keys will help you in creating your affirmations.
Live your dreams. Affirm them every day. Use the Law of Attraction and the universe will conspire with you in achieving all of your dreams.
Day 5. Show gratitude
Jay Shetty, a former monk, author and purpose coach, wrote in his book: “Gratitude has been linked to better mental health, self-awareness, better relationships, and a sense of fulfillment.” Wouldn’t we want all of these? Think Like A Monkauthor tells us we can get them by simply being thankful. He cited the research study by Robert A. Emmons, an expert on the science of gratitude. This is backed by Science! So today, your task is to think of all the people, the things, the opportunities, and the experiences you have in your life and be grateful. Or simply, be thankful for your life.
You’re now on your way to loving and caring for yourself. Out of all the challenges out there, this one might just be the most valuable you have taken for yourself and the people around you. Good Luck!
There has always been a buzz about turning 40. Some people call it big 40 and the phrase “Life starts at 40” could not be any more popular. Well, I have recently turned 40. Today, I have lived for exactly 40 years and a week. I spent the days that led me to this number by figuring out what’s special about turning 40. In the next few weeks, months and years, I know I will appreciate it more. Today, I just want to take a snapshot of how I feel while I am fresh in my 40s.
The pandemic and the quarantine protocol were on my side as it gave me a great acumen about life. This is my second birthday in quarantine, meaning I, as most people I know have, spent more than a year at home, tinkering with mundane stuff, going through a very limited routine and doing a bunch of insightful activities I can think of. Either way, I think I would have thought about it deeply just the same even without being quarantined.
Here are my thoughts, and tidbits of wisdom you might find useful. What’s special about turning 40? Being 40…
I became a homeschooling mom in the recently concluded school year. It was amazing to see a lot of doors open for my son and myself. I realized that with our flexible schedule and a more functional approach in meeting the topic outline for his level, we can do a whole lot more! We targeted skills that were not embarking all upon the academic road. Our map led us to the smooth sailing rivers of growth mindset, steep valleys of executive function and to the wonderful trails of life skills! It hasn’t all been easy but it was worth it. And it got me thinking about learning itself. They say learning never stops and that it pays to aim for life-long learning.
Some time ago, the husband was telling me about this movie, based on a real-life bunch of adults playing tag. I managed to say “Ah..” to feign a little interest. I, recently, found it on Netflix, and heck, I watched it and unexpectedly, I loved it! Having said that on the first paragraph, you know that this is Tag, not really a movie review. Nevertheless, I will try to slide a bit on that. Photos in this post were taken from Netflix screen shots.
When we were in high school, the husband and I met in our community chapel. He was an altar boy, I was a choir member and we were both Legionaries (Legion of Mary). Because we were very active in church activities back then, we called ourselves taong simbahan (church people). Probably because of this, we tried to be devout Catholics as individuals and as a family when we became one.
